Legends That Bleed
by Kiko-Butt
Summary: A good, solid punch to the face has always had the power to change a person's outlook. Kakashi didn't realize this until Gai got him, right in the kisser. He was never going to live this down. Team 7's fate was about to change. Strong Team 7
1. Chapter 1 Knock, Knock

Summary: A good, solid punch to the face has always had the power to change a person's outlook. Kakashi didn't realize this until Gai got him, right in the kisser. He was never going to live this down. Team 7's fate was about to change.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto things would be different. Yep a lot different. So I obviously don't.

* * *

Chapter 1 : Knock Knock

* * *

Umino Iruka smiled down at his students. Another year at the academy had come to a close. The tests were finished and 26 shiny, new hitai-ate were about to begin their journey in the world.

Of course less than half of these students had any real potential. It was a harsh reality, but a majority of the students would not be accepted by their jônin sensei and would be sent back to the academy. This process was to put the civilian council at ease and made it appear as though becoming a shinobi was accessible to those of civilian heritage.

This of course was far from the truth. Iruka estimated that there were usually only two or three civilian-born students every year that made it past the team elimination tests. They were sent back to repeat the final year and without parents pressuring them to continue on the shinobi path most washed out.

Iruka looked out over the students who were settling into their seats. There were probably only two civilian-born in this bunch who had a chance. He caught the shocking head of pink that belonged to Haruno Sakura. She had potential, but no true drive. Yamazaki Isshin was the son of a weapons' maker and had wonderful aim and a natural affinity for taijutsu. But, unfortunately for Isshin the team he was put on definitely would not pass in Iruka's opinion.

Iruka pushed aside these thoughts. He didn't make this system and graduation was a time of celebration. However, there was also bitterness in watching your students move on. For Iruka it was especially difficult to watch a particularly loud blonde go. The veteran teacher was worried about Naruto and had been since he found out just whose team Naruto was being put on. Glancing in his favourite student's direction Iruka hoped that the boy wouldn't be sent back after his jônin sensei's test. Naruto would be impossible if he failed after finally passing the Academy tests and Iruka would have to deal with the fall out. His ears would be ringing for weeks.

The chûnin teacher knew that if the new Team 7 failed, both Naruto and Sakura would be sent back to the Academy. Due to political pressure the Hokage would have to assign Sasuke to either an apprenticeship or find him an older genin team that had lost a member. While Sasuke looked stellar on paper the boy had serious issues to work out. He would not work well on any team he would be placed on. Being apprenticed to some jônin would only increase the boy's isolation from his peers. A shinobi who couldn't work with others was pretty much useless.

Iruka sighed. He had tried to explain this to the Hokage, but the man had completely dismissed Iruka's concerns, which was rather surprising. The Sandaime had always graciously listened to the now veteran teacher's advice despite his young age.

"Alright, alright everyone settle in. We have a lot to get through before we announce the teams so please find a seat and be quiet about it." The students found their seats quickly. Knees bounced and fingers tapped as the room filled with nervous energy.

"Ahhh come on Iruka-sensei can't you just tell us now!" Naruto whined from the fourth row. He seemed to have quickly gotten over whatever embarrassing kerfuffle had occurred between himself and Sasuke moments ago.

"I will announce them when it's time. We still have a few housekeeping issues to take care of before that and we will break for lunch before the jônin sensei arrive as they are currently receiving their ord-" Iruka's explanation was interrupted by a knock at the door. Blinking in surprise the chûnin did not bid entry right away. "Yes," he called after a few more knocks were rapped against the wooden frame.

The door slid open to reveal a man with a rather slouched posture. Iruka's jaw fell open slightly in surprise. He had been warned by the Hokage that Hatake Kakashi was known for being habitually late and would probably not arrive for his genin team well into the afternoon. So, what was the elite jônin doing at the Academy when it wasn't even ten o'clock yet?

"Ah, Hatake-san. We aren't quite ready for you yet," Iruka apologized with a bob of his head.

The jônin didn't seem to hear him as he stepped into the room. His lone eye tracked across the students lazily before coming to settle on the rather flummoxed teacher. The students eyed him back with obvious curiosity, wondering if this was one of the jônin.

Iruka tried again, "Umm, you see, I haven't announced the teams yet and well, the jônin were supposed to meet at the Hokage's office to receive their team assignments and the students' files." Maybe the man had just gotten confused. Iruka had heard that along with his tardiness the man rarely paid attention to the goings on around him. Though Iruka heard some of the stories about this shinobi and his achievements, they didn't really match up with the picture in front of him.

The man merely blinked his solitary eye at him before pulling three light blue files from inside his green flack jacket. "I have my team assignment here, I would prefer to just take them now. I am on a bit of a tight schedule you see. Lots to do today."

Iruka swallowed tightly. Naruto was doomed. "Yes well, let me just…" he shuffled through some papers on his desk in order to cover up his exasperation with this interruption to his schedule. After going over them for three nights straight he knew the team assignments by heart.

"Team 7: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura," Hatake droned, not waiting for Iruka to call the names himself. The teacher grit his teeth and pushed down his annoyance at the jônin's high-handed action. It would not do to be unprofessional in a room full of freshly graduated genin. Technically the jônin outranked him and he didn't have any authority to stop the other shinobi from doing exactly what he pleased.

The kids whose names were called, stared rather stupidly at what they assumed was their jônin sensei. They were too shocked at this rather interesting turn of events to react to their team assignment as expected. "Follow me," the silver haired man commanded in a flat voice. With that the jônin ambled out the door from which he entered.

There was a beat before Sakura, the first one to realize and acknowledge the order scrambled from her seat and with a quick bow to Iruka and left through the same door.

Sasuke followed at a more sedate pace not even acknowledging his ex-sensei as he left the room.

Naruto, who had stood at his spot looked rather torn and a little angry. The jônin might be his new sensei but he was outright rude to Iruka-sensei who was Naruto's favourite person in the world.

"Go on Naruto," Iruka said while shooing the blonde towards the door. Naruto didn't even have time to bid his sensei a last promise that he would become Hokage as he hurried to catch up with his new team.

Iruka sighed as he slid the door close behind his favourite student and turned back to his class. He had a very bad feeling about this.

"No fair! Why does dead-last get his team assignment now?" Inuzuka Kiba's forehead was quickly introduced to projectile chalk.

* * *

Sakura couldn't believe her luck as she kept pace with the rest of Team 7, as they followed their new sensei through the village to an empty training ground. She had gotten on Sasuke-kun's team! The pink haired girl couldn't wait to rub this in Ino-pig's face later. It was a bummer that Naruto, the class idiot had to also be put on the team. How did the boy end up graduating anyway, she wondered.

Naruto was already being a menace as he badgered their new sensei all the way to the training ground. Sakura frowned slightly as she stared up at the odd man. He hadn't introduced himself, just bid them to follow. His appearance was also strange. His silvery grey hair, though he didn't appear old enough to have grey hair, stuck up at an odd angle and he wore his hitai-ate as an eye patch. His face from the bridge of his nose downward was completely covered by a cloth mask. It was a fashion statement Sakura definitely didn't agree with. She idly wondered if he was covering up some grotesque deformity or gruesome scar.

When they had come to the end of their journey the blonde menace tried again to question their sensei. "Are we going on some super-secret mission sensei? Is that why you pulled us out early?" Previous anger at his new sensei forgotten, Naruto was back to his hyper self.

"Stupid, we're new genin we won't get missions above D rank for two months probably," Sakura scolded, flicking her hair over her shoulder. Honestly did Naruto not pay attention to any of their lessons?

Naruto's enthusiasm only died for about a second at being called stupid. "Then why did he call us out here early and he said we had lots to do today?"

Sakura was about to answer when the last Uchiha seemed to lose his patience. "Shut up both of you," he hissed.

Naruto scowled at the black haired boy and Sakura flushed at being harshly spoken to by her crush.

"Are you quite finished with your inane bickering?" their sensei questioned. Though his words were sharp they were delivered in such a relaxed manner that it was difficult to take them seriously.

Sakura pursed her lips but kept quiet. It was really Naruto's fault with his idiotic comments. "Yes sensei," she mumbled, while Naruto continued to scowl.

"Great, because I have much better things to do than teach three fresh brats from the Academy." Sakura blinked as she gaped at the man. That was so rude! Sasuke was not a brat and neither was she. Naruto had obviously already made a bad impression and she and Sasuke were getting painted with the same brush! "Now before we get started let me explain a few things." Naruto looked like he wanted to interrupt again but caught the fierce glare Sakura was sending him and wisely stayed quiet. "This is your new favorite place in Konoha, training ground 13. I have reserved it for the indefinite future so it will be available everyday,twenty-four hours a day."

Sakura cringed before taking a gander around the clearing. She hoped he didn't really mean they were going to be training around the clock. There was a clearing that they were standing in now with a small lake directly in front of them. A young forest surrounded them on all sides with the path that they had just walked interrupting the tree line at their backs. There was a small shed set off to the side of this path.

"The shed is ours to use and store training equipment. You each get a key." Their sensei handed the keys out and Sakura readily accepted hers with excitement. "I of course will be taking them back if…" Their sensei let the word hang for a moment before continuing, "you don't pass my test."

Confusion flooded the poor pink haired girl's mind. Another test. A glance at her teammates showed that they were equally confused.

"But um," Sakura floundered for a moment trying to remember his name. "Hatake-sensei?" she asked hesitantly.

"Oh, yes I forgot to introduce myself didn't I? You can all me Kakashi."

"Kakashi-sensei, what is this test for?"

"Well to see if you will be genin of course," their sensei answered in a falsely cheery voice.

Naruto apparently couldn't hold it in any longer. "What do ya mean 'if we will be genin'? We already are genin. We passed the academy test. Look!" The blonde boy pointed emphatically to his hitai-ate.

The jônin made a sweeping gesture with his hands as if to brush away his student's protests. "That is simply a formality to see if you are worth even being assigned to a team. The true genin test is given by the jônin-sensei."

Naruto's shout of dismay could probably be heard across the village and it rang in the others ears rather painfully. "Shut up before I send you back to the Academy with a kunai embedded somewhere you don't want it," cut the rather cold voice of the jônin. This warning was not as laid back as their sensei's earlier scolding. Naruto's mouth snapped shut and Sakura's protests died on her lips. Sasuke continued to glower. "Traditionally the jônin-sensei will give another test. If the team passes this test they officially join Konoha's ranks. If they fail they are all sent back to the Academy for remedial training."

Sakura raised a wavering hand and Kakashi nodded at her. "All of them? This is a group test?"

The masked shinobi nodded down at her with a crinkled eye that somewhat conveyed the fact he was smiling. Somehow that was hardly reassuring. "Yes, all. If one of you fails, all of you fail."

Sakura felt as if her world was collapsing. She had gotten on Sasuke's team. There was no way that this man this weirdly masked man with terrible posture, could take that away. Anger boiled in the petite girl. Well fuck him and fuck his test. 'Bring it!' the strong voice in the back of her mind yelled.

"So what is this test?" Sakura was jerked out of her anger by the voice of her idol. Sasuke was directing a frosty glare at their teacher and looked none too pleased at this upsetting turn of events.

"Yeah we'll take your stupid test!" Naruto cheered.

Kakashi brought a hand to his lips and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, you see I left a package in a tree not too far from here. The tree is to the west of here and very tall, you can't miss it. I want you to retrieve the package in three hour's time."

"That's it?!" Naruto asked incredulously. Sakura frowned as well. It seemed like a ridiculously easy task.

"Yep that's it. Oh and your time started as soon as we got here so you only have about two and a half hours left." There was only a moment of stillness before both Naruto and Sasuke took off towards the west followed by Sakura.

The three genin raced through the woods. Sasuke easily outpaced his two teammates, but it didn't matter because soon they came upon a small clearing with a tree much taller than the rest at the centre. Sakura blinked in surprise at its height and girth. The intelligent girl immediately realized the problem with this so-called easy task, which Naruto generously illustrated as he attempted to scramble up the tree only to slide back down. The tree was massive, taller than those surrounding it and much wider, but the problem was its branches. There were no branches until at least fifity feet up.

Sasuke took a running start and the pink haired genin was sure that the test would soon be finished as he too came back to the ground, defeated by gravity.

"What the hell kind of tree is this?!" Naruto yelled, pulling Sakura's attention back to the blonde. He had taken out a kunai to use as a rudimentary climbing tool, but when he went to stab the tree the kunai could barely chip away at the tree's bark.

Turning back to her crush, Sakura saw that Sasuke's attempts were also meeting the same end. Fear began to trickle down her spine. Surely Sasuke would figure something out. So Sakura stepped back and watched, waiting for him to do something amazing.

The next fifteen minutes were full of Naruto's curses and more failed attempts at climbing the tree. Flopping down near where his female teammate was standing Naruto looked up at the girl. "Sakura-chan you're smart, got any idea?"

Said girl blinked in surprise at being asked, but immediately huffed, "I'm sure Sasuke-kun will figure it out."

Naruto scoffed, "The asshole just keeps doing that stupid fire jutsu, which doesn't do a damn thing."

"Don't call him an asshole you idiot!" Sakura screeched retracting her hand to smack him over the head. The blonde flinched and raised his arm to protect himself, but Sakura stopped mid swing staring at her fist.

"Sakura?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"Why did he give us the key?" she whispered.

"What?"

The girl didn't hear him though. The cogs of her mind were whirling too fast to hear anything. There was really no point in giving them the key ahead of time was there? Not if he would have to just take it away when they failed. The only point in giving them the key now was… Sakura's head snapped back in the direction of the training ground from whence they came.

Without pausing to explain her actions to Naruto, Sakura sprinted back towards the clearing and what she believed would be the key to passing this test.

When she arrived back at the clearing their sensei was no longer there, but Sakura did not pause to wonder where he might have gone. Time was wasting. Opening the door quickly Sakura half expected there to be ladder waiting inside, instead there were, "scrolls?" What the hell? How were these going to help?

* * *

Hatake Kakashi watched Haruno from underneath the shade of a tree that he had planted himself under. He wasn't surprised she was the only one to figure out his little gift.

He still wasn't sure if he had made the right choice of designing his own test, instead of using the bell test. But he doubted that these brats would have passed if he had given it to them. There was very little chemistry between them from what he had observed before and now that he had seen them interact in front of him… make that zero chemistry. How had Minato-sensei done it? Rin, Obito and himself couldn't have been this bad.

But, failure was not an option for this team. It was a directive from the Hokage himself. It was time to see if the Uchiha could be moulded into anything or if he was just damaged goods. Sneaking Minato and Kushina's son on the team was emotional blackmail and Kakashi wouldn't forget it anytime soon. The girl was just filler, or that was what he had thought a month ago when he had received their files from the Hokage.

The man had given him the files early with the command that he would not be allowed to fail this team, so he might as well take some time to get to know them. In shinobi speak this meant stalking them.

And stalk them he did. Uchiha and Haruno were boring as hell, but Naruto, he couldn't really keep himself from thinking of the boy as anything but the name Minato-sensei had given him, was always good for a laugh.

What he found after stalking the three pre-teens was surprising. He hadn't been expecting so much potential on one team. It was rough to be sure and they all had some issues and habits that needed to be beaten out of them forcefully, but he could work with it.

The Uchiha brat was a mess with emotional issues, which were noted in his file. His ego was the size of a ripe summer melon thanks to the treatment the instructors had given him in the Academy and it would need to be dealt with. The boy was driven only by his goal of revenge on Itachi, not that Kakashi could really blame him, but that was a can of worms he didn't want to touch anytime soon.

Kakashi had known Itachi when he was in ANBU and there was definitely more to the Uchiha Massacre than the Uchiha prodigy snapping. It stunk of a cover-up.

Sasuke was gifted to be sure and well ahead of his teammates, but anyone in his position would have been. He had been basically tutored since early childhood in the shinobi arts and the Academy teachers had been thrilled to clear up their schedules for the last Uchiha when he asked for one on one attention.

It was clear that Sasuke's biggest obstacle would be learning to work with his teammates. The boy had lived by himself since the age of eight and was completely self-reliant. He would no doubt see his teammates as burdens similarly to how Kakashi had first thought of Rin and Obito. This needed to change and change quickly.

Haruno was a wild card. The Copy-nin wasn't quite sure if she would make it yet. He watched from his shade as she pulled out one of the scrolls that would definitely help her. Clever girl. If she could learn how to tree climb on her own it would prove his estimations of her potential right. Kakashi observed her for a time. The pink haired girl's eyes flicked across the scroll's surface quickly, by this time Naruto had come to stand next to her. She began to talk to him animatedly pointing at the scroll, before both pre-teens rushed back down the path towards the giant tree.

It seemed when she was adequately distracted she didn't mind her blonde teammate either. No doubt she had learned her dislike of Minato's son from villagers and other shinobi children who had learned their own parents. Sighing and pushing aside the resentment that bubbled inside of him Kakashi silently followed his kids into the woods.

Sakura's physical skill was non-existent and she would need the most conditioning out of the three. He planned to teach her a style of taijutsu more suited to the female body as the style taught at the academy fit the male body better. She would basically have to start over. The pink haired girl was smart to be sure. Her academic test scores, which were even higher than the Uchiha's, proved that she could retain and recall information nearly verbatim and seeing how she hadn't spent one minute studying in all the time he observed her it was also effortless.

The one-eyed shinobi continued to watch from the shadows as Sakura went from the tree to the scroll and back again. The girl seemed to completely understand the concept the scroll was explaining as he watched her experiment. First, she didn't apply enough chakra and slid down the bark. After making a trip to the scroll she put only one foot on the tree's surface and her foot was repelled off of it. Kakashi could tell that this had been expected, as the girl was ready to catch herself from falling.

By this time Naruto's excited praise had brought Sasuke over to watch. Finally, Sakura put both feet on the tree and Kakashi knew she had this test in the bag. Three attempts. Not even three really more like a little experimenting and one true attempt. That was all it took her. Kakashi smiled. To tree climb this quickly and make her way up the tree with only a couple of slips… the girl's control must be near perfect. What a welcome surprise.

Naruto excitedly congratulated his teammate when she returned to the ground victorious. Kakashi noticed that Sakura flushed in pleasure from the praise. Sasuke, however pointedly ignored her and Sakura's face fell like clockwork. Her motivation was the main problem. From what he could tell she only had one reason for being here. Sasuke. Her silly, obsessive crush needed to die. The question was would she stick around when it did?

The fact that her family were civilians didn't help the situation. Though well off they weren't incredibly wealthy and traded in textiles it seemed. She had nothing tying her to the shinobi community.

As he walked out to congratulate his team he idly wondered if Sakura knew that her mother had had an affair with a shinobi sometime when she was younger. Her father definitely knew and was using it to emotionally torture his wife. His daughter wanting to become kunoichi was probably a slap in the face to the man. At least father and daughter shared the exact same eye colour so he couldn't question the girl's paternity.

Ah families.

"Well done Sakura-chan!" Kakashi praised clapping his hands.

"So we pass right sensei? Sakura got the package, so we pass!" Naruto declared.

The grey haired shinobi tapped a finger against his clothed chin, "Well, actually that was only the first part of my test." Before Naruto could make their ears bleed Kakashi continued, "The second portion will begin after lunch, there are bentos waiting for you back by the storage shed." The jonin disappeared to eat his own lunch quickly not wanting to deal with their complaints. The next portion of the test would be in Naruto's ballpark. He hoped the boy would live up to his expectations.

Naruto was the living-breathing image of Minato-sensei. It hurt a bit to look at him. Though he might take after his father in looks, so far Naruto was all Kushina before the red haired woman had grown up, from the stories she used to tell about herself.

He was outwardly immature and tended to be whiney. He hadn't seemed to inherit any of his father's intelligence, but he had gotten his mother's propensity for mischief. All the reports on him were filled with vitriol other than his homeroom teacher's. Most of the words that Umino Iruka had written were still not flattering but they at least seemed fair.

The boy was sloppy, but Kakashi had seen that most of the teachers ignored him, so go figure. No one corrected his taijutsu stance. No one stopped to explain most of the elementary ninjutsu. It was clear that he was overloading it on the chakra, something that the instructors should have recognized and addressed.

The boy's chakra capacity and stamina were absolutely ridiculous, but then Kushina's had been as well. She had told him once that both were a result of the Uzumaki bloodline and being jinchûriki. Keeping the demon sealed put constant stress on the container's chakra system and stamina. In a normal shinobi the strain would eventually kill them, but because the Uzumaki clan traits of increased stamina and vitality their systems would adapt rather than break down.

His childish pranks ranged from old school to downright creative bordering on inspirational. His predilection towards painting and his _oiroke no jutsu_ showed extreme attention to visual detail that could be encouraged into something a bit more useful. Kakashi covered a giggle. If the boy ever used that on a certain hermit… the masked shinobi just hoped he would be present if it happened.

Kakashi sighed. Having students was going to be a pain in the ass and would definitely cut into his hobby time. But, if he had to teach them, he was going to damn well teach them.

He gently rubbed his hand over his jaw. The damage Gai's fist had dealt months ago was healed, but the memory of the pain and the clarity it brought remained.

_He hadn't been day dreaming about a certain book, or planning his next excuse for being late. He hadn't been staring up at the clouds momentarily distracted by a formation that looked like the chest of a certain irritable blonde or caught in a more unpleasant memory. No, he had been completely focused on the task at hand. _

_So, when Gai's fist was rather brutally introduced to his face, Kakashi had a moment of reflection as he lay on the ground, his head ringing from the blow and no will to stagger to his feet. He had gotten soft. Not just post ANBU soft, but really soft, softer than a newly graduated genin soft. Well, that might be exaggerating it a bit, but damn did it sting that one single punch from Gai was all it took to knock him flat on his ass._

"_Kakashi!" the Beast cried. Damn. Gai wasn't even gloating. There was serious concern in his voice. Kakashi pressed both his eyes closed with a gloved hand. The j_ô_nin truly did not wish to see his friend's concerned face. It would only make the sting of the humiliation that much sharper. Keeping his eyes closed he readjusted his hitai-ate so it once again covered the Sharingan. The eye had seen the punch coming, but his body had not been able to react quickly enough. It was like when he had first received the eye. Obito… what would you say now?_

_The silvered haired scarecrow held up an arm and was pulled to a sitting position a moment later by his friend. The taijutsu master sat down next to him on the ground. "So…" Gai started. _

"_You don't have to say anything. I know," Kakashi said with a sigh. "I've gotten soft."_

"_It's nothing to be ashamed of Kakashi. We all do eventually." Kakashi let his head fall back. There was nothing worse than a serious and empathetic Gai. Gai's empathy held him back in the shinobi world, as he was not able to take on certain missions with his strict moral code, but it made him a very good friend. ANBU would have destroyed Gai, and the taijutsu master knew it. He therefore had never pursued an ANBU position. Some had the audacity to think him weak because of it._

_But, the bowl headed j_ô_nin had always been there to drag Kakashi out of whatever self-imposed hell he put himself in after a particularly bad mission. Even when Kakashi tore him apart verbally in a drunken stupor Gai never let him sink into the dark abyss that ANBU dragged many a shinobi. And it was Gai who helped him adjust when he finally decided to leave ANBU._

_Kakashi owed Gai more than anyone knew, including the Green Beast himself. Now it seemed he owed him again. He clenched his fist in the grass. This softness had to go. _

_It wasn't just a matter of pride, but also necessity. For a while now he had noticed that something was amiss. There was a charge in the air outside the village. It was a tension, a smell almost, that he knew well. His body might have grown soft in his ANBU retirement but old habits die-hard. Kakashi had kept his ear to the ground. A storm was brewing. Konoha would not be ready for it when it hit._

_Most believed that once the Copy Ninja left ANBU and allowed himself to fade almost to the point of obscurity, that he had stopped paying attention. His mannerisms certainly had encouraged this train of thought. Kakashi had watched in the shadows as the Village Council steadily chipped away at the Hokage's power. He watched as ANBU's funding slowly dropped to an all time low. The number of competent j_ô_nin was also incredibly low, with more and more special j_ô_nin, who were admittedly skilled at their area of expertise, but lacked the all around power of a full-fledged j_ô_nin._

_Konoha had become a target, a lamb ready for slaughter. And there were wolves not only at the gates of the village, but sleeping inside the walls._

_Staggering slightly to his feet, he looked down at his comrade, "Again."_

_Kakashi was going to make damn sure he was ready for when the wolves came._

Thinking back on it Kakashi couldn't help the way his body tensed at even the thought. Yes. He was going to be ready, and so were his students.

If Naruto turned out to be anything like his father or mother, he would be in the thick of things. Sasuke would probably be caught up in the mess too and had a good chance of ending bloody like the rest of his family. Sakura, if she was worth anything after he had trained her would follow both of them into the depths of hell.

It was how a team should be.

* * *

Sasuke dropped to the ground with his bento a little ways away from his two teammates and tried to push the anger and frustration he felt down enough to eat. He couldn't believe the stupid fan girl had figured out the test and not him. It was unacceptable. Tearing into his food he tried to block out his two teammates.

Teammates. How terrible was his luck? He got the dead last and one of his fan girls. He would have taken the blonde one over Haruno. At least she was from a shinobi family. Why couldn't he have gotten the Aburame and the Nara? They were at least intelligent. The Nara was lazy as hell, but an undeniable genius.

"What do you think the next test will be?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke didn't respond as the others deliberated between themselves.

"What do you think Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

The girl got a glare in response and Sasuke had to repress a smirk at her flinch.

"Oi, you don't have to be such a bastard all the time!" Naruto protested through a mouthful of rice. Sasuke sneered at his manners in disgust.

"He isn't a bastard you idiot!" Sakura shrieked, smacking Naruto across the head, causing the blonde to choke.

Idiots. Turning away as the two began to bicker, Sasuke returned to eating his lunch. All three of them finished after not much longer. Their sensei still hadn't returned.

The ripping of paper pulled the black haired boy's attention to the dead last. The other boy had ripped open the package that Sakura had retrieved from the top of the tree. Pulling away the paper the blonde revealed the package was a small scroll.

"Do you think anything is written on it?" Sasuke huffed at Naruto's idiotic question. What else did the dumb blonde think one did with scrolls?

"Kakashi-sensei said that he would give us our next task when we finished lunch. I don't think we should open it. He probably will come back and want it." Sakura said. There was hesitation in her words. Sasuke wondered if she was thinking similarly to himself. If they had to retrieve the scroll from the tree for the first task, why had the jônin left it behind with them?

"Pfft lets just take a peak." Sakura made a noise of complaint and tried to swipe the scroll from Naruto before he could crack it open. Naruto tried to dodge her swipe and the scroll slipped from his fingers and landed in front of Sasuke, who unceremoniously picked it up, cracked the seal and unrolled it.

He blinked at its contents as the other two held their breath. His jaw ticked as he silently held the scroll out for them to read.

Sakura snatched it from his grasp and read aloud "To my cute little students, your next mission, or test if you prefer, is to obtain a particular package from the Library of Records. You have until two o'clock to complete this objective. You must not be caught. Return to this training ground when you have completed your task. Failure means being sent back to the Academy." A winky face and the location of the package they were supposed to retrieve finished the message.

"It's already half past noon!" Naruto yelled, rocketing to his feat and upsetting his bento in the process.

"Watch it idiot!" Sasuke growled as the blonde's lunch nearly spilled onto his lap. Naruto was about to respond violently when Sakura came between them.

"We don't have time for this. The location of the package is in one of the off limits rooms in the Library of Records. Only chûnin and up with special permission can get in."

"So we steal it," Sasuke grunted, the answer being rather obvious. Idiots the both of them.

Sakura let out a scandalized gasp, "But, we can't steal from our own village, if we're caught we could get in serious trouble."

"Don't worry Sakura-chan we're not going to get caught. Besides, this is a test even if we do I'm sure Kakashi-sensei can bail us out." As soon as the words left his mouth though Naruto felt a seed of doubt creep into his mind.

"I won't get caught," Sasuke said arrogantly. Uchiha's don't get caught he added in his mind.

"Oh and I suppose you think we can just waltz in there and take it," Naruto laughed sarcastically. "Whose the idiot now? Those rooms are guarded and booby trapped with anti-theft seals."

"How do you know that?" Sakura asked slightly surprised by the loudmouth's knowledge.

Naruto shrugged, "Wanted to see if there was anything good in there for a prank but the Records area is just full of boring books, ledgers and old junk."

"You've been in the off limits rooms before?" asked Sasuke skepticism dripping from every word.

Naruto glared at the obvious disbelief, "Think what you want asshole, but we need to get into that room or we're all going back to the Academy and we're going to need a plan to do it."

"Ok, Ok," Sakura said putting her hands up to stop what seemed to be another imminent fight. She bit her lip not believing she was going to say this but they didn't really have a choice, time was short. They had little over an hour and a half to obtain the package and get back. She had the amazing luck to be put on Sasuke's team this time around she highly doubted it would happen again if she were sent back to the Academy. "Naruto, what should we do?"

Naruto blinked, surprised that his crush was asking his advice but he quickly recovered. "Well," he started, running a hand through his spiky blonde hair, "we're actually pretty lucky. The room that our package is in isn't on the level that is heavily guarded. There should actually only be a single chûnin librarian in that section. But, there will be alarm seals on the entrance-way to the room. When an unauthorized chakra signature passes through, the alarm goes off, activating a seal at the librarian's workstation as well as building security."

As he explained the security system he failed to notice the complete and utter surprise colouring both his teammates' faces. Sasuke was having a hard time believing Naruto's information to be accurate, but the other boy seemed to know what he was talking about.

Sakura pulled out of her astonishment to point out a problem. "But the seal can't be keyed to recognize all the chûnin and jônin in the village."

"It isn't," Naruto answered. "The floor librarian keeps wooden togs that have seals that give off the correct chakra signature. You have to check in with them and get one of the togs before entering the room. When the tog crosses the room's seal it's recognized and other chakra signatures are allowed to pass through without setting the alarm off."

"So what we really need to do is get a hold of one of those togs," Sasuke finished, somewhat impressed with the blonde though he would never admit it. Sasuke also realized that this knowledge had probably been acquired by causing mayhem.

"How are we going to get the tog?" the only female of Team 7 asked. She felt it was pretty hopeless. The librarian would never give them one since they were only genin and stealing a tog didn't sound any easier than breaking into the room itself.

Both his teammates felt a slight shiver run down their spines as Naruto's face split into a mischievous grin. "I can think of a thing or two that might get us one."

* * *

Naruto took a breath as he prepared to begin the first phase of his plan. He had been having a whirlwind of a week. First he had failed the Academy test. Again. Then he had been tricked into stealing a forbidden scroll and found out that Mizuk-sensei, that bastard, was a traitor and inadvertently graduated to become a genin. Which was negated when he later found out from that asshole, who was supposed to be their sensei that they weren't really genin.

During the encounter with Mizuki he had also finally been told the reason why everyone in the village seemed to hate him.

The demon that nearly obliterated Konoha over a decade ago and killed the Fourth Hokage in the process was sealed inside him. Well now things started to make a bit more sense. When he sat down to think about it though, he wondered why the villagers were outright hostile. Everyone called him stupid, but being downright cruel and even physically violent to someone that you thought was demon, who had slaughtered hundreds of your people didn't seem very smart.

In the slightly uncharitable vein of that thought, Naruto came to the conclusion that people were idiots. He wasn't a demon. If he was he definitely would have snapped and at the very least killed those assholes that had set his apartment on fire, while he was still inside, when he was eight freaking years old.

The revelation of the reason behind everyone's hatred had caused him to lose a bit of faith in the one person he had always looked up to. Why hadn't the old man told him? Why hadn't he done anything to protect Naruto from the uncalled for malice? Keeping it a secret had obviously done very little to deter people's hostilities. The new generation, his classmates had simply learned the behaviour and attitude from their parents. It would be better if they at least had a reason to act that way.

To be fair some of his classmates weren't like that. Shikamaru and Chôji had always been decent to him and could even be talked into a prank or two. Shino was a loner but was always polite. Dog breath had no manners, but didn't treat him any differently than anyone else. There was also that one girl who barely spoke to him, but Naruto wasn't even sure if she could speak.

Sakura-chan had always dismissed him, but that was the bastard's fault. Now, though that was changing. Sakura-chan had actually asked for his opinion on something. Even the bastard agreed to go along with his little plan. He hadn't know really what to think when he had been placed with them. Naruto had been ecstatic to be with Sakura-chan, but that was completely overshadowed by his third teammate's presence.

Shaking himself from his reflection Naruto forced his mind to focus. It was really difficult sometimes. Sakura-chan had gotten them through the first test. This test hinged all on his plan and he needed to pay attention. He wasn't going to fail Sakura-chan and he sure as hell wasn't going back to the Academy. The blonde counted down in his head. His timing needed to be perfect once the bastard played his part.

It was too bad they had to make sure they weren't caught. He had to go with some of his least potent explosive tags. The stronger ones he had altered himself made a much more satisfying bang.

* * *

Kakashi watched as his young students dashed back into the training ground clearing. They were sweaty and in both Naruto's and the Uchiha's case slightly singed but they were on time. Ten minutes early in fact, which was like being hours early in Kakashi's book.

"Ah my students, you made it! Did you get my package?" He was only slightly surprised when it was once again Sakura that held up the package and handed it to him.

"So we passed right?" Naruto asked again, this time not quite so confident that their trial was over. Kakashi didn't acknowledge him though. He carefully peeled back the protective brown paper covering to reveal a beautiful vibrant orange book underneath.

His single eye widened in excitement. The rumours had been true. Kakashi repressed a giggle of delight as he pulled the paper off to reveal a first edition of _Icha Icha Paradise_. Five extra full colour art pages and a sneak peak at the next novel. The best part…it was all his. To think he had been sitting on this treasure, not knowing it was within his own village. He would have to find a way to repay Genma. The man's information had been accurate.

"Wait, we risked our necks for a porn book!" an annoyingly loud voice that was beginning to become all too familiar cried. The silver haired jônin's attention was rudely ripped back to his students. The Uchiha glowered at him and his fingers twitched slightly as if itching to wrap around a kunai and do some damage. Haruno was turning beet red and her eyes snapped with fire. Naruto on the other hand looked torn between crying out in anger again and laughing at the entire situation.

"Not just any porn book my ducklings, first edition porn," the jônin corrected patting the book with a loving hand.

"That doesn't matter you pervert! We could have been stripped of our hitai-ate if we had gotten caught, or worse be branded traitors!" Sakura yelled. Well, so much for being the polite one. The anger was now taking over and Kakashi was a bit afraid if her face got any redder her head might burst.

"Now, now lets not get carried away. You make it sound like you actually have any right to wear that hitai-ate to begin with." There was a chill to Kakashi's voice that made his students pause. "Did you have fun playing shinobi today?" They all looked slightly flabbergasted at this question. It was quite an amusing look to see on the sullen Uchiha. "Because that was just a taste of what you will actually do for a living."

"Whad'ya mean sensei?" Naruto asked with trepidation. The genin was getting whiplash at his sensei's continuously changing attitude. One minute the man was laid back to the point of apathy and the next he could make even the stoic asshole look concerned.

"Next time you're asked to steal something or obtain information it won't be in a safe environment. Getting caught won't earn you a slap on the wrist or a half-hearted scolding. If you're lucky it will mean a quick death. If you're not lucky it could mean spilling your guts both literally and figuratively in a slow and painful way." A shiver passed through the genin at the very obvious allusion to torture. "When you fall there might not be someone there to catch you. The good news is you will very rarely be alone."

The three genin looked at each other. Kakashi nodded. "Sasuke," the jônin addressed, causing the boy's head to snap up to meet his gaze, "though you might have figured out in the end a way to get that scroll, you wouldn't have succeeded in the time limit." The boy grimaced and his pride pulled at him to deny the statement. "Sakura, without the information and plan Naruto provided you would have never been able to retrieve this book from the Library." Sakura flushed but nodded. "Naruto, though you came up with the plan you would have never gotten off scot-free without the help of both Sasuke and Sakura."

"Yeah we kicked ass together! I've never had a prank go off so well and get away with it!" Naruto exclaimed. A smile lit Sakura's lips at this and something clicked in her mind. Sasuke scoffed but inwardly couldn't help but admit the overactive blonde was right. Together they had pulled it off quite seamlessly.

Kakashi chuckled at the blonde's statement. Maybe they could learn to be a team after all. "Before we begin the last phase of my test," cries of indignation fell on deaf ears, "I want you to think about something. What does it truly mean to be shinobi, what do shinobi truly do?"

"Kick all kinds of ass!" The blonde's mouth was really going to get him into trouble some day.

"Shinobi lie cheat steal and kill," Sakura mumbled. After she had said it she slapped her hand over her mouth, as if she couldn't believe she had let the words slip out.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried in dismay at the rather grim outlook on their chosen career.

However, their sensei nodded at the girl's simple and accurate answer. "That is correct, and we do it all for anyone with the right amount of money." Kakashi reached out and solidly rapped the blonde's skull. "Get all of those foolish romantic notions out of your head." Naruto scowled up at his teacher and rubbed at the abused spot. "Now I will teach you to do it all. I will teach how to become competent shinobi that are worthy of wearing the symbol of Konoha. It," he touched the symbol on his own hitai-ate, "is the only honour you have. A shinobi's honour comes from his or her loyalty to the village, and it's Hokage."

He looked at them all sternly in turn. "As your sensei I promise to do my utmost to help you become the shinobi you ought to be. I will push your bodies to the edge and then I will throw you over the cliff," Kakashi paused, wondering if they realized he was being absolutely literal. It was important to know what to do when you toppled off a cliff. "I will make you strong." Kakashi noted Sasuke's almost thirsty look at this. "If you don't think that is something you want, leave now." None of them moved, but a sharp grey eye caught a waver in Sakura before she set her jaw and stood tall. Kakashi smirked. Is this what it felt like to be proud of a student? "All that I ask in return is that you remember your loyalty to Konoha, the Hokage and to each other." He let this sink in for a moment before returning to his slouched posture and crinkling his eye. "But before we get to that you have to pass my final test."

Putting some distance between himself and his students, Kakashi tossed them all a single kunai. "You have to make me bleed before the sun sets."

His students all looked down at the kunai in their hands having varied reactions to his words. Sakura's knees were shaking. Naruto looked slightly disturbed. Sasuke was smirking. This test was finally in his wheelhouse.

Kakashi watched them as they found their resolve. Naruto nodded to himself and caught Sasuke's eye. Sakura gripped her kunai tighter and looked toward both her teammates for direction. They understood. His previous lessons seemed to have sunk in for the moment.

The jônin smirked under his mask while bringing his new Icha Icha book out of his back pocket. Let the games begin.

* * *

A/N: Let me start off by saying I love strong team 7 fics. I have read a lot of them and they inspire me. I am not a great writer, but I was tired of this sitting on my computer.

So whether it is awful or enjoyable it is now out.

I was pushed to post this after watching the most recent Naruto movie. I watched it only in Japanese so I got only about 60-70% of the story, but I absolutely hated it. I also hate how most of the characters' stories ended.

So that was my best effort on our four main characters. The characters are going to be a bit off from their original selves. Kakashi, for example is motivated. Naruto is disillusioned because my version of him is not a complete idiot. Sakura will be more heavily affected by her family situation. Sasuke while hell bent on killing Itachi and arrogant as ever but will not be quite as mmmm how should I put it, unyielding. He is still a twelve-year-old kid. They all are even if their society views them as adults.

I apologize for any typos and not knowing how to use commas.

Leave a comment tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2 The Devil at the Door

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 2: The Devil at the Door

* * *

Naruto didn't think he had ever been so tired. He collapsed a couple feet away from his teammates who weren't in much better shape.

Every part of his body throbbed for mercy. He had long since stripped out of the top of his orange jumpsuit, tying it around his waist. His black undershirt was drenched in sweat and with the moderate breeze it did wonders to cool his overheated body.

Their slave driver was just sitting there, chewing on one of his paws as if he hadn't a care in the world. Monster. "You kids tired already?" The casualness of the question taunted all of them, well, perhaps not Sakura. Naruto looked over to see that the girl was definitely unconscious. He would be more concerned for his crush if he had the energy for it. "It isn't even nine o'clock yet. We still have more time for fun." Rage took energy. Even the bastard couldn't muster a glare.

Team 7 arrived at Training Ground 13 at the ungodly hour of six o'clock in the morning, as they had been bid the night before by their teacher. Two of them bruised and aching from the brutal final test the previous day and none of them were in a good mood. Not even Naruto.

Any illusion that he had any skill what-so-ever had been agonizingly crushed by Kakashi. The man made it glaringly clear that he was far and above all of them. They were flies, no maggots, wriggling around helplessly and their teacher was a spider with a playful streak. It was humiliating. Kakashi also showed that he wasn't going to treat them like children. Though Naruto had no doubt the man held back quite a bit, Kakashi never pulled a punch completely. The first time he caught Naruto in the stomach the blonde boy nearly vomited his internal organs. It hurt like nothing he had ever felt before.

The Academy instructors were never so rough and never allowed them to be so brutal with each other. Sure there was the occasional accident when training with kunai and shuriken for the first time that sent one or two clumsy students to the hospital, but even during spars students were monitored closely so they wouldn't seriously injure each other.

At one point during the test Naruto truly believed that they were going to fail. It seemed like an impossible task. But after coming to his feet after Kakashi's sandal firmly planted itself in his back for what felt like the thousandth time Naruto had a stroke of inspiration. When only a few rays of sunlight were left on the horizon Naruto directed Sasuke to put everything into his fire jutsu to give himself and Sakura a chance to come up with a final plan.

It worked. The trap, which was a simple explosion tag Naruto had modified with some wind oriented seals wrapped around Sakura's entire supply of unused senbon caused their sensei to falter as he dodged and both Sakura and Sasuke took the opportunity to send a barrage of kunai each at the off balance jônin. A miniscule cut on their teacher's leg was all they got for their efforts. But there was blood.

The rush of fulfillment and pride that filled his aching body felt sweeter than a bellyful of the best ramen in town. When he turned to both his teammates they had similar looks of absolute triumph on their faces. Sakura's smile, though slightly obscured by a busted lip, was gleeful. Even the bastard was smiling, not a smirk but a true smile, though it didn't reach the proportions of Sakura's or his own.

Kakashi smiled down at them too or what Naruto assumed a smile looked like on his masked face. His appearance was frustratingly unrumpled compared to their own, but he looked…proud. It was odd for Naruto. Other than Iruka-sensei he didn't think anyone had ever been proud of him. Their team leader offered his congratulations on their officially becoming genin and then advised them to go home, eat, clean up and then go straight to bed as the very next day they would begin conditioning. The three heeded the advice without further prompting.

If only they knew the hell that they were in for the next morning. Team 7 were very surprised when it was not their teacher that awaited them at the training ground but a small pug dressed in a similar fashion to the absent man.

"Yo," the pug said with a wave of his paw. After the genin had gotten over their shock at having a dog speak to them the pug continued to explain his presence. "I'm Pakkun, one of Kakashi's ninken. The Boss will be late this morning so he sent me to get you all started on your conditioning." Both Sakura and Sasuke, still sporting bruises from the previous day's trials frowned at this.

"Is he on some top secret mission?" asked Naruto excitedly. After all, last night proved that their new teacher was super strong. It would make sense that he would be used for high-ranked, important missions. Sasuke scoffed at Naruto's guess while Sakura just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, no," Pakkun answered. "More like he is off giggling somewhere reading his dirty book which means I get the far from pleasurable activity of whipping you brats into fighting shape. Kakashi is going to owe me more than a couple belly rubs and treats for this."

Foolishly, and now Naruto looked back on this moment with regret, he laughed and remarked with disbelief how an ugly mutt was going to train them. Not much later he found out just how sharp the little bastard's teeth were. Soon after an entire pack of dogs exploded from the trees and barreled towards the genin, all baring sharp teeth that promised pain.

What followed was three terrifying hours of running, hiding, being found, and being bitten. Finally the dogs seemed to grow tired of the game, as they called it and poofed out of existence, not before telling Pakkun to make sure that their boss made good on his promise.

"I never thought that Kakashi would take on a team of pups. Could have picked a team that smelled better though… Oh wait that's my shampoo." The pug was sniffing around Sakura's unconscious head.

"You don't smell like roses either mutt!" Naruto shot back. A cry of pain followed as Pakkun decided he deserved one last bite for the comment.

"Idiot," Sasuke coughed, rolling onto his side and then up into a sitting position.

"Ohhh, what's this?" a voice from the left side of Naruto asked. The blonde's head snapped around to take in the man that had put them in this hell.

"You!" the blonde spluttered.

Kakashi pointed at himself and attempted to look innocent.

"You're late!" Naruto had been trying to shout, but after spending all morning screaming whenever one of the dogs sunk their teeth into his flesh it came out as more of a hoarse squeal.

"Oh sorry about that, I had to help this group of kids get their cat out of a tree."

"Liar," called a weak voice. Naruto glanced to see Sakura's one good eye open. The poor girl ran smack dab into a tree while trying to get away from that particularly vicious Akita.

"Maaa, you wound my virtue Sakura-chan," the silver haired shinobi actually managed to look wounded.

The figure lying in the grass only managed to whimper an unintelligible response, but Naruto thought it sounded something like 'asshole'.

"Well I think that is enough conditioning for today don't you?" Five eyes glared hatefully at their teacher in response. "On to taijutsu!" Naruto gulped at the near gleeful tone of Kakashi's voice.

* * *

Sakura carefully applied the cream that Kakashi gave her for her eye. Kakashi split them up after the morning conditioning exercise, or what she liked to think of as running for her life, to work with them individually on their taijutsu. Naruto was up first with the demon. The jônin instructed Sakura to give Sasuke a lesson in tree climbing in the mean time.

Her right eye was swollen nearly shut and throbbing. Kakashi-sensei took pity and gave her a cream that was supposed to reduce the swelling so she could see better. Sakura only allowed herself a moment of worry at the thought of Sasuke seeing her face half covered in the not so nice smelling, brown gunk before asking for help. She turned to him, "Did I get it all covered?"

Sasuke, who seemed wholly unaffected by her appearance merely grunted before starting off towards the trees. Sakura groaned inwardly at what her parents would say when they saw her tonight. Last night was bad enough. Her father ranted at her mother for hours when he had come home to his daughter's bruised and battered appearance.

Her dad didn't seem to care one bit about Sakura joining the Academy but he was not at all supportive of her becoming a genin. It was a year ago or so that her father's tune changed and Sakura still didn't understand why.

Her mom however was supportive and proud. Sakura clung to her mother's approval. When she returned home the night before her mother took her upstairs and helped her clean every cut and ran a hot bath for her. She listened attentively as Sakura described the different trials that their new teacher put them through.

Sakura smiled when she thought of how her mother voiced her pride in Sakura's intelligence that allowed her team to pass the first trial.

The pink haired girl watched as Sasuke attempted to climb up the tree as she did the day before without any success. Irritation brought a little heat to her cheeks. Kakashi-sensei told them that Sakura was supposed to teach Sasuke, but the black haired boy clearly didn't feel he needed any help. A spiteful voice cheered in her mind as she watched Sasuke slide down the trunk again.

Pushing back her spite Sakura approached her crush. This was the perfect opportunity to show Sasuke she was worthy of his attention.

"Umm Sasuke-kun?" she tried. Her voice came out pitifully small. Damn it.

The boy stiffened before slowly turning around to glare at her. Sakura inwardly glowered. There was no reason for him to glare at her. She was trying to help him. "You should focus your energy first and try to find the right amount."

The boy looked like he was about to turn around and ignore her advice completely.

"Look," she huffed, finally out of patience. The girl stomped up to the tree. "You have to feel out the right amount of chakra to push into your feet. Too little and your feet will just slide off, too much and they will be pushed off and you will damage the surface of the tree." She demonstrated, without checking to see if Sasuke was following along or not. "Once you know the right amount, you have to maintain this constantly or you will slip and fall." Finally, once she walked up the tree and came to sit on one of the thick branches she allowed herself to glance at Sasuke.

The boy at least wasn't glaring at her but he certainly didn't seem very grateful. Without a word he turned back to his own tree. Sakura's heart plummeted, so much for gaining his attention. She watched as he did exactly as she bid, but didn't offer any gratitude.

What was the point of being on his team if he continued to ignore her just like in the Academy, she wondered morosely.

Sakura looked upwards at the tree she was sitting in. She might as well climb some more.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he pulled himself from the dirt again. "Don't just fly at me and expect to land a punch," Kakashi reprimanded once again. "You don't use any discernible technique; your movements are sloppy and wasteful."

The blonde grit his teeth at the criticism. He wanted to scream in frustration. Naruto knew very well that his taijutsu left much to be desired. He knew his form was terrible. The academy teachers barely spared him a glance much less gave him any instruction. Everything he knew he learned from watching others, which left his style disjointed and more fit for a drunken brawl than a taijutsu showdown.

Kakashi sighed and dragged his palm down his face, "We're going to have to start all over with you." At this Naruto did cry out in frustration and with a surprising amount of energy flew at his teacher in a fury only to be caught easily. "Now, now no need to be so upset. It isn't like it's a great loss." Tossing the blond away the jônin smoothly flipped open a scroll and unsealed its contents. A wooden dummy poofed into existence beside him. "Naruto, meet your new best friend."

The blonde simply glared at his teacher. "Now," Kakashi began, pulling a larger scroll from nowhere. "This is a different style of taijutsu than you learned in the academy. It's focus is on more powerful strikes that ninjutsu can easily be incorporated into. But it requires more endurance since you are much more likely to be hit than an evasive style." All the rage drained out of the genin as he listened to his teacher's explanation. "I will help you through the basic stances and strikes, but after it's up to you to learn from this scroll." He tossed the scroll to Naruto, who almost toppled over from its unexpected weight. The blonde clutched the scroll as a small bud of hope grew in him. Did this mean that Kakashi wasn't going to ignore him? He brushed the thought away as quickly as it had come. The jônin might be trying to sucker him in before turning cold like so many in the past did.

Naruto quickly fell into place behind his teacher as he showed him the basic form. Even if this attention from his teacher was fleeting he would soak up everything he could before Kakashi turned all his focus on the bastard as every teacher Naruto had before did.

Kakashi worked with Naruto for nearly an hour and a half. The blonde was about to burst from just how slow it was going. He knew he needed to pay attention and when his mind wandered the jônin always seemed to know and gave him a painful rap for it. Kakashi finally called it quits when Naruto could completely run through all of the basic strikes, moving haltingly from one stance to another.

"Right send over Sakura and learn tree walking from Sasuke." Without so much as a good job Kakashi sent him off. Grumbling at the thought of Sasuke teaching him anything, Naruto was glad he paid attention to Sakura's rambling the day before when she figured out how to tree walk.

He had a pretty good idea of what he needed to do but the execution was going to be the problem. If his taijutsu was bad his chakra control was abysmal. The blonde at least now knew why his control was so bad. He had an overwhelming amount of chakra therefore it was difficult to control. It made so much sense.

From what he read, the shadow clone technique took nearly three times the amount of chakra of a normal clone as they were solid. Also after the clone was created the creator's chakra would be distributed between the clones. Naruto estimated that he made about a hundred clones the night he fought Mizuki. He also just learned the technique and was tired from experimenting with it.

This led him to the conclusion that his chakra reserves must be massive and he was awesome. Freaking awesome.

Unfortunately, massive reserves also meant his control was absolute shit. He learned from watching Sakura that this technique was all about control. The blonde stopped a ways away from the tree that Sakura was in.

"Oi Sakura-chan! Kakashi-sensei is ready for you." The girl trotted down the trunk of her tree a ways before dropping to the ground. Naruto nearly flinched when he caught sight of her face. There was brown goop caked on one side of her face and it was cracked and flaking off. Not in the least bit attractive. Sakura nodded to him as she passed causing more of the brown stuff to peal off, revealing the now multi-coloured skin beneath. At least the swelling around her eye went down.

Sasuke dropped from his tree as well, glaring at the girl as she walked towards their teacher. Naruto wondered if he should tell Sasuke what Kakashi asked him to do. Seeing the sneer on the black haired boy's face Naruto decided to keep it to himself. He doubted the bastard would have helped him anyhow.

If he ended up having that much trouble he would just ask Sakura later.

* * *

Sasuke was unsurprisingly angry. He was last to get private instruction from Kakashi and spent nearly two and a half hours doing nothing but tree climbing. He was embarrassingly tired from it too. He watched out of the corner of his eye as both Naruto and Sakura were brought back to basics in their one on one instruction. The Uchiha snorted inwardly at this, both their taijutsu was appalling. Naruto's was hideously sloppy though the idiot somehow made it effective at times. Sakura's form was near perfect, but she was slow and so weak any hit she managed to land barely made an impact.

From the looks of it the jônin was teaching both Naruto and Sakura different forms.

Kakashi better not make him go back to the beginning like that. He didn't need it. He graduated at the top of his class and even beaten some of the previous year's genin in taijutsu when they had combined sparring classes. Sasuke proudly used the Uchiha family style though he was more than competent in the basic academy form as well.

He watched as Sakura was finally dismissed by their teacher and quickly pretended to be focusing at his task at hand.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura called breathily, not yet having recovered from her training, "Kakashi-sensei is ready for you." Without a word to his teammate Sasuke dropped down to the ground and made his way over to his teacher.

"Ahh Sasuke-kun!" The black-haired boy flinched at the jovial voice of their teacher. "Now I know you use the Uchiha taijutsu style correct?"

Sasuke nodded warily mouth set in a hard line. He wasn't going to change.

"Good, good, and I know you use it fairly well." Sasuke grimaced at the comment. Fairly well?! "But you are lacking somewhat in the speed department and as you do not have the sharingan yet I think some modifications are in order."

The boy's right eye began to twitch slightly from his anger. "Now, as you no doubt know being an Uchiha, the style that your family favors limits movement and power so as to keep eye contact with their opponent, but again as you haven't awakened your eyes there really isn't any need for this." That was it, Sasuke was going to kill his teacher. "So for today I think we will work on dodging!" Before the genin could fully register the malicious look on his teacher's mostly covered face, projectiles were flying at him.

Not able to dodge all of them Sasuke winced as a shuriken cut a line across his left cheek. "Oh dear, you better be faster than that or else your face won't be quite so cute anymore." The black haired boy didn't have time to fill with dread as more objects were thrown at him.

What the hell did this have to do with taijutsu? Sasuke ducked and weaved and dodged, but he was never quite able to evade all of pointy projectiles and soon he was covered in tiny scratches. This continued for more than half an hour. Sasuke barely noticed when the barrage stopped coming. He was panting and his clothes were soaked in sweat. He met his teacher's eyes, well eye.

"Learned anything yet?"

The question met with a glare.

"No? Well let's continue!" Sasuke inwardly flinched at the delight in those words. What was he exactly supposed to be learning? He winced as a shuriken cut across his back and sucked in his breath as a kunai he failed to see coming passed by his chest as he twisted when he felt it near him.

Sasuke blinked. Felt it? More implements were thrown at him faster than the eye could see, but Sasuke could feel their approach and his body moved minutely to avoid them. He knew from the past thirty minutes that if he moved too much or left the ground too often Kakashi would throw something unavoidable to catch him.

Interesting. He didn't even need to see Kakashi throw anymore to know where kunai or shuriken would be. Senbon however were much more difficult to predict and sense coming. He bit back a cry as an especially long one sunk into his calf.

Grudgingly Sasuke realized he was learning.

* * *

Kakashi sighed as he sank into his favourite booth at the quiet little out of the way restaurant he frequented for lunch. He ordered his usual melon soda as he looked over the menu that never changed. His cute little students weren't so cute after their two days of exposure to his teaching methods. He let them go for lunch telling them they would continue taijutsu practice when they returned from the break.

Naruto sported a nasty lump on his head, Sakura looked exceptionally dreadful and Sasuke was ragged, bloody and bruised after his lesson in dodging. Their moods were dark as well. Kakashi had the fleeting idea to give them words of encouragement at the end of the day, but thought better of it. It wasn't really his style. He would simply remind his students that there was no progress without sacrifice, that sacrifice being pain.

And there was progress, though he doubted his genin could see it yet. Naruto showed that he was a very quick learner when given even a smidgen of attention. The boy soaked up the new style and showed a surprising amount of awareness of his own body. After being corrected several times on his positioning the boy everyone thought was an idiot corrected himself when he slipped out of place.

Sakura though bruised and bloody refused to break down after a nasty hit from him. She also showed a surprising amount of grace when introduced to the new style he had chosen for her. The style was evasive, focusing on dancing around the opponent, utilizing flexibility and speed to land precise strikes. It was ideal for a kunoichi that was on the more petite side, and could easily be combined with simple and effective genjutsu that he planned on teaching the girl.

Sasuke was of course competent when it came to tajutsu. He had no doubt been trained since early childhood in the style and had access to some of his family's scrolls. He also, from what Kakashi saw had Academy teacher's falling over themselves for the opportunity to help the last Uchiha. That arrogance was going to get him killed, which was why Kakashi took every opportunity to remind him he had yet to achieve his family's trademark. The reliance on the eyes was a flaw that Kakashi saw in every Uchiha he ever fought, and the jônin refused to allow it to be a flaw in Sasuke. He was going to beat it out of the genin if he had to. The boy seemed to have gotten it towards the end of their time together, moving smoothly without always trying to return to face Kakashi after he dodged.

After today's heavy individual instruction Kakashi planned a more team centred approach for the following day, after his munchkins finished conditioning and taijutsu practice of course. He would also begin training them in the evenings in the more mind based aspects of shinobi life like information gathering, tracking, and deception skills. He would slowly add more and more hours of instruction to their schedule in order to build up their stamina. He requested a month's leave from the mission office in order to get his genin up to the skill level he believed genin should graduate with. After a month of this he might just allow them to play with some ninjutsu, if his other plans fell though.

Brats better be grateful, he was giving up a lot of his personal time for them. Personal time he could have been using to bring himself back to his ANBU level. It was what was doing while his ninken played with his kids.

After placing his meal order, a nice hamburg curry, Kakashi brought out his favourite orange book. Teaching was really difficult, he deserved some _Icha Icha_ time.

"Well, well if it isn't the famous Copy Cat Kakashi," a deep voice drawled from behind him. Kakashi grimaced at the nickname behind his mask and book. He didn't really want company. Looking up he saw it was three other jônin who had been up for the unfair torture of taking on a genin team. "Asuma, Genma, and I don't think we have been introduced," he said nodding at Yûhi Kurenai. The lazy jônin knew exactly who she was but didn't feel the need to reveal that.

Asuma laughed as he plopped down across from Kakashi and scooted to the side to make room for Kurenai. Well, today just wasn't his day was it, Kakashi thought to himself. Genma pulled up a chair to the booth after Kakashi made no move to allow the senbon chewing shinobi to sit next to him.

"Yûhi Kurenai, meet Hatake Kakashi, elite jônin and all around lazy bastard. You would have been introduced to her if you attended the genin assignment meetings. Where the hell were you anyway? I know you weren't on a mission," Asuma questioned as he lit up a cigarette.

"I was here and there," Kakashi answered curtly, wondering when he could make his escape. He didn't hate Asuma and actually got along surprisingly well with Genma, they worked together for a couple years in ANBU, but he had come here for peace and quiet.

"Well wherever you were I heard you passed your team," Asuma continued.

"Like they were going to allow the Uchiha brat to fail no matter what Kakashi said," Genma scoffed. "You still drinking that liquid candy?"

Kakashi shrugged at Genma's jibe at his choice of beverage. "I find it refreshing."

"So do you believe that your team should have failed then?" Kurenai asked. The wrinkle in her forehead showed she was concerned that undeserving or unprepared genin would be passed based on politics.

"Not my problem," Kakashi answered with a sigh. The kunoichi looked nearly affronted at his response.

"I sure don't envy you that team," Genma said as he stretched. "My lot were completely incompetent. What the hell do they teach in that academy?"

"I don't think the last Uchiha would be a bad student. Head of his class wasn't he? Who else is on the team?" Asuma asked taking another drag from his cigarette.

"Kid might have been head of his class, but he is a dick. I had to substitute while on injury leave. Absolute little shit," Genma offered, swiping Kakashi's melon soda and taking a sip despite the man's protest. "I was on the selection committee this year too. Poor Kakashi got the blonde menace and a whiny fan girl."

"I highly doubt he is that bad, from what I read of his profile he is quite talented," Kurenai rebutted giving Genma a slightly scathing glance. "What is Uzumaki Naruto like?" The question was phrased innocently enough, but Kakashi noticed the woman's exotically coloured eyes narrowed as she said his student's name.

"He is loud."

"Come on Kakashi we all know that," Asuma chided. The chain smoker heard quite a few stories from the chûnin teachers on mission rotation.

Kakashi shrugged he didn't really feel like sharing his impressions with the other jônin. Team 7 wasn't their business.

Asuma stubbed out his spent cigarette, "You seem to be going easy on them though."

The surprise Kakashi felt did not show on his face. "What gave you that impression?"

"I saw Uzumaki on the way here. Apart from a little ripped clothing the boy seemed perfectly fine. Even my laziest student Shikamaru is walking a little funny from my test and I got the Yamanaka dirty. Girl wouldn't stop complaining about it."

The silver haired shinobi kept his face neutral as he shrugged. So Naruto's healing rate was indeed accelerated like his mother's. He expected this but the confirmation was nice.

Asuma continued, "You gave your team the bell test didn't you? Who was tied to the stump?" The bell test was well known among most jônin. It was an unwritten rule though that you had to have been given it as a genin in order to use it yourself.

It was a difficult choice for Kakashi to forgo the tradition. But the Copy Nin did not see the point in giving them the exam when he already knew they would either fail or pass by the skin of their teeth. Instead Kakashi chose three tasks that would showcase the usefulness of one team member's skill and teamwork in general.

The tree climbing was an intelligence and chakra exercise that Sakura would pass with flying colours. The retrieval mission utilized Naruto's surprising tactical prowess. The final fight brought them together as a team and proved without a doubt that Sasuke's current practical skill was stronger than his teammates. They performed exactly how Kakashi expected them to with the only surprise being Naruto's creative use of an explosive tag at the end of the fight.

He asked Naruto to show him the type of tag he used. The jônin knew the basic explosive tag that genin were allowed to purchase should not have blasted the senbon at that speed. He was a little shocked to see that Naruto modified the seals.

When asked about where he learned to modify them, Naruto reluctantly answered that an old retired shinobi who lived in his building used to sit on his balcony and write tags. The older man was patient enough to teach Naruto the basics of seals. Naruto had of course studied sealing not to become a better shinobi but to improve his pranking skills.

The old shinobi passed away last year and instructed his only living relation to give Naruto his sealing kit upon his death. Kakashi pretended not to see the tears Naruto refused to let fall when he admitted this.

Kakashi would have to test Naruto in the near future on his knowledge of fûinjutsu. Sealing was temperamental and in a worst case scenario an unstable seal array might have deadly consequences for its creator and his or her allies.

"Well, Kakashi?" Asuma questioned looking at him quizzically. The Copy Nin realized he must have been lost in his thoughts for some time.

"I'm sorry what was the question?" he asked with the added bonus of an eye crinkle.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he looked at the amount of bookwork he had to do that night. It was now three weeks and some odd days since he became part of Team 7. The reading assignments Kakashi-sensei began giving them at the beginning of the week were becoming ridiculous.

After the first week of purely physical training from 6:00 am to 5:00 pm Naruto had finally gotten up the courage to ask their team leader why they hadn't received a mission yet, not even a D-rank. He knew that the other teams were doing them as he saw them occasionally around town. Their teacher's answer was that they hadn't earned the privilege yet, but since Naruto was still energetic enough to think he could do missions on top of the physical training Kakashi would happily extend their training to the evening.

Kakashi added more instruction on different shinobi skills that they were taught the basics of in the Academy. Naruto and his teammates spent 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm on these assorted skills till they were finally dismissed. Their only day of reprieve was Sunday. They were expected to be at the training grounds but it was free practice without structure.

In the third week of training Kakashi started to assign reading to them as well. The reading material was varied and ranged from the history, politics and culture of other countries to more obscure genres' of jutsu and weaponry.

All the school like work was draining on Naruto. He didn't understand why it was important to know why Earth country had a rice trade agreement with Water but not with Wind. Honestly he didn't get why they did either, Wind would probably pay an arm and a leg for the rice given a majority of the land in Wind country lacked the proper amount of nutrients for most forms of agriculture. Smacking his own forehead at the fact he even knew that Naruto let his head drop onto the table in front of him.

He wasn't the only one who grew frustrated with the reading assignments either. Sasuke had at first refused to do them, saying they weren't worth expending his energy on. He received an extremely painful rebuke from Kakashi. Naruto was just happy that he wasn't the first one to complain about the assignments.

"Are you really that much of an idiot that you don't understand the importance of knowing your enemy?" Kakashi asked him after driving the last Uchiha face first into the ground. "Do you think you can just keep your head in the sand on missions and expect to be successful?"

Sakura looked like she was about to protest Kakashi's treatment of their third teammate but Naruto sent her a look that clearly said she was asking for rough treatment herself.

"Did you know that three of Konoha's chûnin were executed last month after getting caught operating in Iwa territory. Konoha cannot seek retribution because of the treaty Fire country has with Earth. Do you want to be responsible for the deaths of your teammates simply because you couldn't crack open a scroll and know where you can and cannot go before a mission? It is not strength that completes missions successfully, it is information."

Kakashi put them through hell the rest of the day in order to drive home the importance of gaining knowledge of the world. Even Sakura was a little bitter towards Sasuke at the end of the day for being the cause of such harsh training.

Naruto glanced at Sakura worriedly. The pink haired girl became less and less vocal as the days passed. She was having a hard time keeping up with the physical training and her appearance showed it. There were bags under her eyes from lack of sleep and her face showed that she was losing weight. She started to braid her pink hair to keep it out of the way during training and by the end of the day it would be in complete and utter disarray. Her clothes were rumpled before training even started and her fighting dress was now permanently stained and ripped in several places.

Not that Naruto's clothes fared any better but he wasn't really bothered by it, neither was Sasuke. Sakura however, would pick at her ruined clothes absently during meal times with a frown on her face.

Though their sensei's methods were ridiculous and sometimes cruel, Naruto could see the improvement in not only himself but also in his teammates. In their three-way taijutsu fights Naruto could now hold his own against Sasuke and with Sakura's help take him down. Chakra control was still difficult, but with the help of Sakura he could now tree climb and was beginning water walking.

Sakura was still the weakest in taijutsu, but was improving enough to land hits to particularly painful regions of the body. Her flawless chakra control allowed her to water walk on her third attempt. She spent the rest of the time coaching Sasuke and himself in the art. Sakura also enjoyed reading in a way Naruto thought was crazy. She actually went to the shinobi library after practice to complete Kakashi's reading assignments and read up on other subjects she was interested in.

Naruto asked to join her after the third day of nearly being up till two in the morning. With Sakura explaining the bits he didn't understand he could finish before midnight. Sasuke actually joined them after the fifth day.

Sasuke was still an asshole in Naruto's opinion but in their second week after Kakashi had introduced their three-way fights he came to both Naruto and Sakura. In usual asshole fashion he told them they were pathetic. Before Naruto started to curse him and Sakura burst into tears he began to critique and correct things that they did wrong during the fight.

Before Naruto would have raged that he didn't need help from the stuck up bastard, but now things were different. Kakashi beat in the logic that refusing a helping hand was stupid no matter how rudely that hand was offered. Even the bastard seemed to finally get this since he joined Sakura's study sessions.

Naruto proved to be the best on the team at the evening training and willingly shared everything he knew about tracking, thievery, body language and lying. Lying especially was an art both this teammates were surprised he was adept at. The blonde also showed them the basics of some of his more complicated traps.

He wouldn't say they were getting along. They didn't spend any time together outside of training or studying, but they really didn't have any time outside of that. They were almost silent at second breakfast that they ate after conditioning and before taijutsu practice. Lunch was a similar affair. They didn't have the energy to fight with each other at least.

Naruto groaned as he collapsed onto his futon that night. In less than five hours he was going to have to do it all over again.

* * *

Sasuke woke up at five in the morning. He folded up his futon and put it in the closet. He dressed quickly, not bothering to run so much as a comb through his hair before turning on his rice cooker and beginning to prepare his meals for the day.

His muscles complained the entire time. Naruto got in a good hit on Sasuke's side the day before and breathing was a little difficult at the moment. Sasuke wasn't sure if he should be outraged the dead-last landed the hit, after all Sasuke taught him that move.

It was a bit confusing. On one hand he believed that if Kakashi focused all his energy on him he could be far and ahead of what he was now. However, the black haired genin could not ignore that he was making more progress in his training with his team than he had by himself during the last year at the Academy. It was just that it seemed his teammates were progressing so much more rapidly than himself. They were still below him, but in just shy of a month Naruto could go toe to toe with him in taijutsu. Sakura, whose physical abilities were once deplorable, could nearly keep up with Naruto and himself when they ran.

Sasuke knew he was faster, and stronger than he was before, but somehow his teammates were right there nipping at his heels.

A very small part of him was proud. After all, he was helping them. He was partially responsible for their progress. The rest of it belonged to their demon of a teacher. The man was insane. He also knew how to get results. Sasuke had to grudgingly admit, only to himself, that he respected the silver haired shinobi.

The jônin somehow made Sakura stop stalking him and Naruto less of an idiot. The two were almost bearable, almost.

His bento packed and first breakfast eaten, Sasuke slipped out of the single bedroom house on the outskirts of the Uchiha clan complex and made for training ground 13. He wasn't surprised to see Sakura already there. The girl took to meditating in the mornings after reading up on it last week.

Sasuke moved over to the shed, which Sakura already unlocked and took out some leg weights. Strapping them on he made for the usual running path. After the first week of training Kakashi asked them if they could be responsible for their own conditioning. The three genin jumped at the chance to not be chased around Konoha by the ninken. Their sensei warned them if he thought they were slacking there would be hell to pay.

Sakura was the first to slack. Kakashi gave them a warning in that relaxed lazy voice that they came to realize meant danger. Naruto and Sasuke made sure Sakura didn't slack the next day or the next. By the third week she could be trusted to set her own pace.

Ignoring his protesting muscles Sasuke broke into a run. The others would soon follow. Sasuke pushed himself faster. He was stronger, but it wasn't near enough. He improved greatly in a few short weeks, but it wasn't enough and he was exhausted. All of it still wasn't enough.

He had graduated the Academy at the age of nine.

He had made ANBU at thirteen.

It wasn't enough.

But how could it not be enough? He was literally training around the clock. Even more than he was when he was on his own. Kakashi was running them all into the ground. If he wasn't training, he was eating or sleeping. What more could he do?

What if he wasn't enough?

The traitorous thought grew in his mind like a weed. Sasuke wanted to blame the others for holding him back but were they really? There was no guarantee that he would be progressing any faster without his two teammates.

He had been the best in the Academy this year but his scores were not out of the range of most of the top scoring students from years previous. A Hyûga actually scored higher last year.

He had seen the records and none of the top students from recent years were even close to his level.

Sasuke managed to graduate at twelve, the average age for children born to shinobi families.

Nothing special.

Nothing genius.

Nothing even close.

He wasn't enough.

The thought disrupted his footing and Sasuke nearly slammed into a tree, veering off to the left at the last second he crashed into some shrubbery instead. His breath came harshly. He was covered in sweat and aching.

God he was tired.

He was tired of waking up to the same four walls every morning.

He was tired of being angry.

He was tired of feeling empty.

He was tired of the silence.

He was just fucking tired.

For a few moments Sasuke lay in the shrub and breathed.

On the edges of his senses he picked up someone coming. The black haired genin knew he should get up. It was no doubt Naruto. Idiot was only quiet when he wanted to prank someone.

Why get up? What was there to get up for? He wasn't enough. He wasn't even angry at the thought.

There wasn't even enough in him to be ashamed anymore.

"Sasuke?" Naruto had arrived. Sasuke didn't move, didn't acknowledge the blonde's presence. Maybe, if he willed it, he could become so still even his heart would stop beating.

"I am not getting the shit kicked out of me for you." Dark eyes opened and connected with blue. "Seriously, get the fuck up." A pink head bobbed through the morning light. The fan girl had arrived too. She stopped behind Naruto looking at him as if she were actually concerned.

Without another word she and Naruto both stepped forward. Naruto, the dead-last, the loud mouthed idiot who never seemed to have a care in the world was holding out a hand to him.

Sakura stood alongside Naruto with a small smile on her face. "Come on, I found something interesting in the library last night. If we push hard we can finish the route and have time to eat and talk about it before Kakashi-sensei arrives. You both will want to know about this."

Sasuke stared at his teammates. In the first week he thought they were dead weight. In the second week he exasperatedly began helping them. If he was going to get stronger they would need to get stronger too. In the third week he grudgingly began to have a small amount of respect for them. Now, in the fourth week of training with them he knew that he wasn't going to be rid of them anytime soon.

Sasuke reached out and grasped Naruto's hand firmly.

He wasn't enough.

Not yet.

* * *

A lone figure watched the genin from above. He smirked at the sight before him, his single eye crinkling in genuine pleasure. His plan was working.

Two down. One to go.

* * *

Sakura chewed and swallowed the last bit of her mom's onigiri. Naruto was already finished with his snack and patiently waiting for Sakura to finish eating as well. Well, patient for Naruto, which meant fidgeting and sending her looks that clearly said hurry up.

The only girl of Team 7 merely chewed slower in response. Glancing at their other teammate Sakura bit her lip. Sasuke's behaviour that morning was odder than usual. Sakura even thought his face was wet when Naruto pulled him out of the bushes.

Not that she blamed him. They were working like machines nearly nonstop since they had been put on the team. Even for Sasuke, who trained regularly outside of the Academy it would have been like going from a steady jog to a dead sprint with the expectation that speed was maintained for the same amount of time.

Sakura faltered in the second week and still struggled daily with her motivation and focus. She frowned in contemplation thinking back on the question Kakashi-sensei asked her.

_"Why are you here?" The genin flinched at her teacher's question. She performed poorly today. It was the first day they worked on conditioning by themselves. Kakashi was obviously disappointed at her lack of commitment, but she was exhausted!_

_They barely had any time to rest and Sakura's body ached all over. So, she decided to go slow on her run that morning and only do about half of the exercises she'd been told to do during her taijutsu lessons._

_It seemed that their teacher was all knowing because he called her out during taijutsu practice. Kakashi instigated a three on one battle where he once again put them to shame. Despite doing much better than their first three on one fight with the jônin he still tore them apart._

_A few tears slipped down Sakura's cheeks. "Sakura?" The firm but gentle tone pulled Sakura's pink head up. She didn't think her scary teacher was capable of sounding like that. "Why are you here?" he repeated._

_It was a fair question. Why was she here? What was she doing? She wasn't kunoichi. She was just a girl from a civilian family who followed her friend to the Academy._

_"I should quit shouldn't I?" she asked bleakly._

_Kakashi raised his only visible eyebrow. "Should you?" he responded._

_His tone made Sakura wilt. "I'm not good at this," Sakura cried, gesturing wildly._

_"Aren't you?"_

_"Sensei!"_

_The man stared down at his student and crouched to be at eye level. "Do you know why I was angry at you today?"_

_"Because I didn't work hard."_

_"Do you know why that made me angry?" Sakura frowned at her teacher. She didn't, other than him missing some perverse pleasure he most likely got from watching them suffer. "I was angry because you have potential and by not working hard you wasted your time and Sasuke's and Naruto's as well." Sakura blinked. He thought she had potential? Before she could ask Kakashi continued, "I want you to go home and think about why you want to become a kunoichi Sakura. If you don't come here tomorrow with an answer I accept, you're off the team."_

_"But sensei! You just said I had potential!" Tears rushed to the surface as Sakura realized she truly failed._

_Coming to stand at his full height Kakashi nodded in agreement. "Yes, but what good is potential if you aren't willing to work to fulfill it. Why should I spend time training you when Sasuke and Naruto work harder?"_

_Anger rose in her cheeks, but Sakura bit her tongue knowing he was right. She walked home slowly that night. What was she going to tell her parents? Well, her father was going to be happy no doubt. He had wanted Sakura to quit being a genin the moment she put on her hitai-ate. Her mother would be so disappointed though._

_Why did she want to be shinobi? At first it was a way to spend more time with Ino. The two were inseparable after Ino stood up to the kids bullying Sakura._

_Then one day it changed. All the girls in their class became obsessed with Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura thought he was cute and cool, but she never thought of him past that, but Sakura was swept up in the fervour and before she knew it she was in rivalry with Ino for his affection._

_Affection that was completely unattainable from her current perspective. Sasuke only cared about one thing and one thing only, becoming strong. Without Ino around to egg her on, there seemed little point in chasing after the boy. It wasn't fun anymore._

_So where did that leave her?_

_Naruto wanted to become Hokage, or so he kept saying when they were eating. Sasuke was obsessed with becoming stronger, for a reason Sakura didn't know._

_They both had goals._

_She had nothing but a broken friendship ruined by a silly game over a stupid boy. A game she didn't even realize she was playing till now._

_Sakura arrived home and could hear her parents fighting before she even walked into the house. By passing the door Sakura jumped and climbed to her bedroom window and silently entered her room._

_Collapsing to the floor the tears spilled down her face as her parents raged at each other downstairs._

_At one time her father was proud that she got into the Academy, a feat that not many civilian children could boast, but now all he wanted her to do was quit._

_At one time her mother was proud of her intelligence, but how smart was she if she squandered her only true friendship for a boy who barely glanced at her even when they were on the same team?_

_And despite everything she still wanted. She wanted to be a part of Team 7._

_Sakura joined the Academy for Ino._

_Sakura liked Sasuke because everyone seemed to._

_Sakura did well to please her parents._

_Gritting her teeth Sakura glared at her reflection in the mirror. She wanted this. For the first time Sakura wanted something for Sakura._

_She tried not to dissect why she was thinking in third person._

_Running, sweating, bleeding beside her teammates was the first time she ever felt like she had purpose, that she wasn't just going along with what other people wanted or following someone else's shadow._

_Sakura felt like she finally figured out what she was meant to do. Finally she found out who she was meant to be._

_She didn't notice that her parents had stopped fighting._

_Tomorrow she would answer Kakashi-sensei's question._

"Oi Sakura-chan! You're finished so what is your big news?"

"Alright, alright here." She pulled a little black book from her hip pouch. Both boys blinked at the thing before Sasuke's face lit with recognition.

"What is it?" Naruto asked picking up the small black book.

"Idiot, it's a Bingo Book." Ignoring Naruto's glare at his choice of words, Sasuke looked at Sakura, "Why is it interesting?"

The pink haired girl grinned. "It's not just any Bingo Book, it belonged to a shinobi from Iwa." She took back the book she snuck out of the library, which was no doubt misplaced as a Bingo Book was not supposed to be left in a section open to genin. "Which means, this book has Konoha shinobi in it." Flipping to the page of interest she held it out so both boys could see.

"That's – " Naruto's exclamation died when he felt the palpable anger pulse from Sasuke.

"Why does he have the sharingan?"

* * *

AN: I want thank you to those of you that reviewed my first chapter. I know it is easy to ignore stories that only have one chapter, but I do intend to update this story regularly.

I'm really enjoying continuing to write this so I hope someone out there is entertained by it.

For those of you that are sticklers on the details, I am aware Genma is actually a Special Jonin and therefore would not be assigned a genin team. This story is a tad AU so I will be changing some things from canon. Like my Naruto has some exposure to seals as I mentioned in the first chapter. No he is not going to become a fuinjutsu master, but it will be a tool in his tool box.

Let me know what you think. Till next time.


	3. Chapter 3 Only the Good Die Young

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Don't have anything witty or creative to add to this disclaimer.

* * *

Chapter 3: Only the Good Die Young

* * *

Well this was an unexpected turn of events Kakashi mused. The jônin had been watching his team from the nearby tree line, something that had become somewhat of a habit of his. Though he didn't really enjoy his new stalkerish hobby, it was necessary.

He had hoped he would be able to keep his eye under wraps, at least until they had taken their first mission out of the village. Honestly, where had the girl found a foreign Bingo Book to begin with? Sighing exasperatedly, Kakashi moved from the shadows.

It wouldn't do any good to let the boy's progress go to waste because he got angry at him. The silver haired shinobi had intended to share the story of his own genin team, or at least part of the story at some point to teach his own students a valuable lesson. He just hadn't planned on it being this soon.

But, perhaps they were finally ready to hear it. Sasuke had taken Naruto's hand.

"I think this story calls for a different location," Kakashi said, announcing his appearance to his team. Naruto and Sakura both looked as if they had just been caught red-handed. "Do keep up." He left with his usual poof. Less than a minute later his feet met the ground of the memorial stone clearing. To their credit all of his students arrived only thirty-some odd seconds behind him. Their speed was barely comparable to what it had been after they graduated, but there was still a ways to go.

"Does someone want to explain what is going on?" Naruto complained. Kakashi looked towards Sasuke, who stared right back with accusation in his dark eyes.

Sakura was the first to break the tense silence that followed Naruto's question. "The Bingo Book said that Kakashi-sensei has the sharingan in his left eye. The sharingan is the bloodline limit of the…" she trailed off with a worried glance toward Sasuke.

"…Of the Uchiha clan," Sasuke finished.

"Oh… and it being a bloodline limit means the only way he could have gotten it is…" Naruto's voice faded as he came to his own conclusion of how his teacher must have acquired the eye.

Kakashi cleared his throat, wondering how he was supposed to feel that his students believed him capable of cutting an ally's eye out and taking it. Perhaps he had been a bit too harsh in his training. He would try to use more words of encouragement in the future.

"The eye was given to me."

"No Uchiha would ever give up their eyes!" Sasuke snapped, taking a threatening step towards his teacher.

The jônin sighed, the boy wasn't going to listen to him easily. Stepping aside, so his students could see the memorial stone behind him Kakashi began his story. "I was five when I graduated from the Academy."

A choked noise of disbelief escaped his blonde student and other noises of surprise came from the peanut gallery, but Kakashi continued not believing he could start again if he stopped. "My genin team, well we weren't much of a team really. I didn't appreciate them, thought they held me back. I was only with them for a year before I made chûnin. I began to work missions outside my genin team after that, but our teacher, he made sure that I stayed in touch." Both Minato and Kushina had always looked out for Kakashi.

"What does any of this have to do with-" Sasuke was rudely interrupted by Sakura's foot smashing down on his. Glaring at her he fell silent at her fierce look.

The masked shinobi watched it all with amusement. "Anyway around the time that I turned thirteen the Third Shinobi War broke out. I was jônin by this time and I was given a mission to lead my old teammates on what was Konoha's first strategic counter measure." Kakashi paused seeing that mention of the war had peaked their interest.

"But, things went wrong. The enemy captured our team medic. My other teammate wanted to rescue her. I told him the mission came first. He… he called me a coward and said that a shinobi that abandons his teammates is worse than trash. To him, nothing came before the team. So he left and I continued on." All these years later and he still felt shame when he remembered that particular discussion.

"You just left them?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"The mission that we were on was incredibly important. If completed it would have been a huge blow to our enemies," Kakashi argued. He had wondered who out of the team would react the strongest to his choice to leave his own team behind. He had been betting on Naruto.

"So what, you left your teammates behind?! You were supposed to be their leader!" Naruto cried, the revulsion he felt at this revelation was clearly written across his face.

"Are you saying that you would have done differently?" the silver haired shinobi asked.

"Hell yes, I would have! I would never leave Sakura-chan or Sasuke behind." The look in Naruto's eyes was fierce. Sensei, you would be proud of your son, Kakashi thought. The jônin noticed the others' reactions to Naruto's proclamation. Sakura was nodding in agreement. Sasuke, though he wasn't outwardly agreeing, there was appreciation for Naruto's words on his face.

"Well then, you are a better shinobi than I was at your age." Naruto blinked up at him in confusion. "It took me maybe an hour to realize what I had done wasn't right, but what changed my mind was how my teacher would have looked at me had I returned without my teammates. So I turned around. I engaged the enemy just in time. During the fight I lost my left eye and one of my teammates, the boy who called me trash was partially crushed when one of the Iwa-nin caused a rock slide. His name was Uchiha Obito and his name is here," Kakashi finished softly, pointing to one of the many names on the memorial stone.

All of his students crowded forward to read the name he pointed to. "Before Obito died he asked Rin, our other teammate and medic to take his eye and give it to me. Obito just awakened the sharingan in that battle. He had awakened it to save Rin. He wanted to make sure it continued to protect her." The jônin watched an assortment of emotions flicker across Sasuke's face. "I come here almost every day. I have made many mistakes. I have many regrets. I wish that you learn from this one." He watched as they all ducked their heads.

Not for the first time since taking on this team did Kakashi feel wholly inadequate and unworthy. He had never been a very good teammate. He didn't see how he was supposed to teach them to be something he was not.

"I think today we will take a break. You can train together if you like." With that Kakashi walked slowly out of the clearing. He needed some time away from them as they digested his story and he recovered from telling it. Gai was back in the village. He wondered if the other man would spar with him.

Naruto watched his teacher walk away. It was an odd thing. The man almost never walked, well, he did but he always appeared and disappeared in a puff of smoke usually. Naruto was convinced that the masked nin did it because he knew it annoyed the crap out of all of them.

The situation was uncomfortable and Naruto realized that they barely knew anything about the man they called sensei. Team 7 was quiet as they contemplated what they were told.

Naruto opened his mouth to ask Sakura and Sasuke what they thought but then closed it. Kakashi's story was supposed to not only answer how he had received the sharingan, but also be a lesson to them about the importance of the team. Talking about anything other than that seemed like a violation of Kakashi's privacy.

It was a heavy thing to leave them with. Naruto looked towards the stone, remembering the days he used to come here and read the names, searching for a particular one.

The blonde repressed a shudder at the thought that any of Team 7 would end up on the stone. Not for a long time if he had anything to say about it.

They didn't have to go back to training, but Naruto didn't really want to have the rest of the day to just his thoughts. He looked towards his teammates. "Rest, of the day off. So maybe he isn't as much of a monster as we thought," the blonde mused. Sakura's pink head nodded. Sasuke scowled but his head also jerked in agreement.

"He also has quite the reputation apparently," Sakura added, holding up the Bingo Book.

"'Still want to know what he is hiding under that mask."

The girl next to him laughed. "You wanted a lesson in meditation right Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, wanna to do that now since we're free the rest of the day?" Sakura nodded and turned to make her way back to the training grounds. "Man, since we are free the rest of the day, wanna get ramen for lunch?"

"We just ate and you're already thinking about food?" the pink haired girl asked incredulously.

"'Course," Naruto responded with a grin. The genin glanced back at his other teammate, "You commin' Sasuke?" The black haired boy had still been looking at the memorial stone. He looked up and with a nod followed the other two.

Naruto groaned as he flopped backwards. "You're getting closer don't give up," Sakura encouraged. Meditation was apparently a bit more difficult than it appeared.

"Sakura-chan we have been at this for hours, can't we go and get ramen now?" Naruto asked pleadingly, his bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

"Fine," Sakura conceded.

"Yes! Oi bastard we're going to go get ramen now! OW! Sakura-chan!"

"Language," the girl said without a hint of remorse.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes at his teammates' antics as he made his way over to them.

Team 7 departed the training grounds together as Naruto expounded on the brilliance of the ramen they were about to enjoy.

"Hey isn't that Chôji?" Naruto said, glancing to his left and pausing in his vocal deliberation on whether he was going to get the miso or the salt ramen first. His teammates followed his gaze. It wasn't just Chôji, but Shikamaru, Ino and what looked like their jônin sensei as well.

"They're probably headed to the mission office in the Hokage Tower," Sakura observed. Team 7 took in their old classmates and dissolved into silence for the rest of the way to the ramen stand, each thinking about different things.

"Why the hell haven't we taken a mission yet? It's been like a month since we became genin," Naruto complained, as he took a stool, Sakura and Sasuke flanking him. "Teuchi-jisan three bowls of miso to start!" Naruto called.

"Idiot, why would you want to go on a D-rank anyway? Waste of time," Saskue scoffed. Naruto rolled his eyes at the insult, used to it by now.

"We'll have to do them at some point," Sakura said, wiping her hands with a moist napkin.

"Mmm, Sasuke might have a point. I'd rather train than take a D-rank, but," Naruto paused for a moment, wondering if he should finish his sentence. "I need the pay," he admitted. Both of his teammates looked at him in surprise.

Three bowls of steaming ramen were put in front of them, interrupting what would have been an awkward silence. "Thanks Ayame-chan!" The other two mumbled their thanks at the brunette server. The three ate in silence. Naruto frowned into his bowl. His funds were running low. He had stopped receiving money from the orphan fund once he made genin. Without the monthly check he wouldn't be able to pay his rent or utilities next month.

"Don't worry Naruto, we'll talk to Kakashi-sensei about taking missions tomorrow," Sakura said as she smiled gently. Naruto gave her a small smile in return and attacked his ramen with more gusto. "Actually there was something else I wanted to talk to you guys about." Naruto and Sasuke both looked up from their bowls at her. "Well you see, I've been doing some reading…"

Naruto snorted, "When aren't you doing some reading?"

The girl rolled her eyes, but plowed on. "Genin teams aren't chosen at random." Naruto and Sasuke shared a look wondering where she was going with this statement. Sakura had a bad habit to ramble before getting to the point when she wasn't sure about something.

"Iruka told us that they were balanced by ability level," Sasuke said, recalling the lecture the day before the teams were announced.

Sakura nodded. "That was what he told us," she agreed.

"Sakura are you saying Iruka-sensei lied?" The idea didn't sit well with Naruto. Iruka-sensei was one of the few adults Naruto actually trusted.

"Think about it. Why would you place the best student and the worst student on the same team? It doesn't make sense."

Naruto frowned. That sounded like balance to him. Sasuke made a noise of comprehension. "What am I not getting here?" he asked.

"The final test is pass fail for the whole team Naruto, not just ours but every jônin's test is designed that way."

The light bulb clicked on in the blonde's head. "Ohh, why risk sending the best back to the Academy by putting the worst on the same team…Hey! I wasn't the worst!"

"On paper you were."

"Sakura-chan!"

"Facts are facts idiot."

"Bastard!"

"Enough! Are you going to let me finish?" Sakura's question quieted them. "I did some research and looked into the other teams that passed the test. First Team 10, Chôji, Shikamaru and Ino. Their team assignment was easy enough to figure out. I stayed over at Ino's a lot when we were kids. All three families are close and were over a lot and I'm pretty sure their dads were all on the same genin team. Ino's dad was training her in clan jutsu, no doubt Shikamaru and Chôji received similar training."

"If it ain't broke don't fix it," Naruto stated, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Exactly, if teamwork is a goal of a genin team they would have it without even trying given they have all known each other for so long. Plus their clan jutsu have proven to be complimentary no doubt."

Sasuke grunted his agreement at Sakura and Naruto's conclusions. "And the other team that passed?" he questioned.

"Team 8, Aburame Shino, Hyûga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba," Sakura listed. "They required a bit of research but they all come from prominent clans." Naruto frowned slightly. It was a rather disturbing trend Sakura had just passed by. He had never really thought about it. All six of the other genin came from the most well-known clans in Konoha. Sasuke was from one as well. Sakura was from a civilian family and he was an orphan. Shaking his head, Naruto focused. "I have a theory about them. Shino's clan uses bugs. They have various abilities but one that I found described in detail was the ability to follow a chakra signature."

Sakura looked at the boys to see if they were following along. They had learned about chakra signatures and could sense and track them to an extent but the skill was not an easy one to acquire. "Hinata's clan is famous for the bloodline limit called the byakugan."

"What does it do?" Naruto questioned.

"It's a dôjutsu, like the sharingan, but it has different abilities. I know it allows the user a 360 degree view of the area surrounding them," Sasuke explained. "The sharingan is superior," he added, ignoring Naruto's scoff.

"Lastly the Inuzuka clan has dog companions. They even take on some canine traits when they bond with their partner," Sakura finished.

"Ahh, I knew that one," Naruto spoke with a grin. "Kiba's got a real sensitive nose, almost too sensitive, you could say," Naruto chuckled.

Sakura shuddered at Naruto's implication, wondering what horrible smells Naruto had forced the other boy to endure. "The point is all these abilities could be very useful in one particular field."

"Tracking," Sasuke supplied, almost as soon as Sakura had finished her sentence.

"But why put those three on a team together if they're all suited for the same thing?" Naruto questioned. "That sure as hell isn't balanced."

"No, but they would potentially be a very strong tracking team," Sakura countered. "With all three of them working together they would never lose a target."

"So, if Team 8 serves a single function then perhaps Team 10 is similar," Sasuke hypothesized.

"I thought so too, but I'm not sure exactly what function that would be. I know most of the Nara clan is highly intelligent, but I don't know what their clan jutsu are based around. Akimichi is a mystery to me as well."

"And Yamanaka?" Sasuke questioned.

Naruto saw hesitance flicker across Sakura's face for a second. "Their jutsu have to do with the mind."

"But that aside, they were put together for a reason and it sure as hell wasn't balance," Naruto ground out. It seemed irrefutable now. Iruka-sensei either outright lied or misled them.

The blonde saw Sakura bite her lip and look at him worriedly. "It also leaves the question of why we are on a team together. Kakashi-sensei has run us back through the basics of the Academy. Sure we are learning taijutsu more suited to us as individuals but basically we have just been perfecting and learning the real world applications of what we learned in the Academy."

"True, it doesn't seem like he is pushing us towards a certain field," Naruto agreed. Blue eyes took in the serious frown on the pink haired girl's face. "Hey it's not a huge deal. Don't get upset over it."

"But, you don't see it? Kakashi has the sharingan."

"Yeah, so what?"

"Well, I don't think we were meant to pass the team test."

Naruto spluttered and Sasuke's head whipped around to look sharply at the girl. "Why would you say something like that?" Naruto cried. Sure, Naruto had realized by now that he had basically played around in the Academy. Yes, he had been ignored by the teachers, but he hadn't tried to better himself on his own either.

Sakura sighed, "Think about it logically Naruto." The girl was purposefully ignoring Sasuke at this point. "My physical grades were terrible. I was probably third to last in the class, and sure my exam scores were high, but if you averaged the two I was a mediocre prospect at best and I would still probably be towards the lower end of that scale."

She held up her hand when Naruto was about to protest. "You were basically my opposite. Sure, you did okay at sparring because of your crazy amount of energy but your technique was horrible and all together you were the worst in our grade. The final genin exam takes physical abilities into account more than written. Even with that bonus you were still the worst because you couldn't perform the clone technique. I wasn't much better, so tell me how we make a balanced team?"

Naruto was speechless and more than a little upset by the time Sakura was finished. The team sat in silence for a few moments, their appetites gone. "But if we didn't pass then Sasuke…?" Naruto trailed off as he finally connected the dots. Kakashi was their teacher because of Sasuke. The blonde didn't like the line that particular realization led to.

"Not every year do the teams divide up equally into groups of three, the whole have to pass with your team thing isn't exactly true. From the records I read through there were times when even single genin were passed in the middle of the year. Kakashi-sensei has the sharingan and was no doubt selected for Sasuke, but that again-."

"Leaves you and me totally out of the picture," Naruto concluded. He didn't know what to feel. Did the Third really expect so little out of him that he had expected him to fail? Why had Iruka-sensei even let him pass the bogus genin exam? Confusion gave way to burning resentment within Naruto.

"So what?" Sasuke's flat voice broke through the fog of emotion in Naruto's head. "So what if you were put on this team to fail. Obviously the monster saw reason to pass us together." Naruto wanted to agree. "Yes, you both were awful, but you both excelled at things we didn't focus on in the Academy. Kakashi's test proved that." Sakura brightened from the praise. "And now, only a month out of the Academy you both have nearly mastered completely new taijutsu styles. We can all walk on water, steal something right out of someone's pocket without them noticing, follow each other through the village while remaining undetected, traps, chakra sensing, weapons, deception detection, we may complain about Kakashi but so far he has done as promised. We're all stronger, faster, smarter and more competent."

Naruto gaped at his usually stoic teammate. From the corner of his eye he could see Sakura looking similarly surprised. "What," Sasuke asked, scowling at their expressions.

The blonde's astonishment turned to mischief as he brought a hand up to his heart. "Sasuke that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me." The black haired genin huffed and rolled his eyes. He tossed money down on the counter and stood. "Wait Sasuke! Does this mean you like me?" Sakura choked on the last bit of broth in her bowl. Naruto grinned as he watched the other boy stalk off. "Looks like the bastard is really warming up to us, Sakura-chan."

His statement was met with a cuff to the back of his head. "Language."

* * *

Sasuke didn't know what to think anymore. He sidestepped a strike to his chest from Sakura and aimed a kick to her face that she avoided nimbly. The discussions from the day before were difficult to keep out of his head as he attempted to focus on training. After they had finished ramen, the three genin had returned to their training ground to work, even though they were given the day off. He and Naruto had sparred together until they were both bloody. After patching up their wounds they tried meditating with Sakura.

He didn't want to think about all Kakashi revealed. Sasuke had spent all these years believing that only himself and that man had (or really had the ability to have in his case) the sharingan, to find that not only was there someone else alive with it and his own teacher at that.

Sasuke felt slightly betrayed by the knowledge. What else was Kakashi keeping from him? The man was tight-lipped about pretty much everything. His teaching method was a primary example. Kakashi never told them the reasons behind anything they did really. It was annoying now, but it was down right frustrating in the beginning.

_Sasuke ignored his protesting muscles as he bent forwards to avoid Kakashi's sandal from smashing into his face. It was the fourth day of doing nothing but conditioning exercises, taijutsu and chakra control work._

_His entire being wanted to just collapse into the ground. He aimed a round house kick at Kakashi's side and bit down on his lip hard as Kakashi countered with his own kick. The genin truly thought his shin had snapped in half. Stumbling, Sasuke tried to catch his breath and nearly groaned in relief when Kakashi raised his hand signaling the end of the spar._

_"Naruto, Sakura that's enough," the jônin called. "Get some water." On the other side of the training ground the other two genin made towards the shade of the trees where the packs were. Sasuke and Kakashi joined them._

_"Sensei, when are we going to start using ninjutsu?" Naruto asked. It was a question that Sasuke himself had been wondering. Kakashi had yet to even mention ninjutsu or genjutsu. They hadn't used either since their exam._

_"Probably not for another month," the man responded._

_"A month?" Naruto exclaimed shrilly. Sasuke seconded the sentiment, but not quite at that volume. "Why not?!"_

_"Do you know what it takes to perform ninjutsu?" Sasuke blinked at their teacher. He knew Naruto was an idiot but he wasn't that much of an idiot…or was he?_

_"Of course I do," the blonde snapped back with a glare. Kakashi simply raised his sole visible eyebrow as if to say prove it. "Chakra."_

_"Correct, and do you know what stops a shinobi from being able to perform a ninjutsu, Sasuke?"_

_Rolling his eyes skyward he answered, "Not enough chakra."_

_"Correct , and?"_

_"Lack of control?" Sakura answered hesitantly._

_"Correct!" Kakashi gave them both a creepy eye smile and Sasuke repressed a shiver. "Now as children," all three of them scowled at being called such, "your chakra systems are underdeveloped and you have access to only a fraction of the amount of chakra you will have when your systems finally stabilize." Naruto looked like he wanted to interrupt, but changed his mind and fell quiet. "Sakura has slightly below average reserves for a genin." The pink haired girl deflated at this. "Sasuke has larger reserves, probably slightly above average, I would say. And Naruto well, has an enormous amount of chakra, perhaps more than even I have now."_

_"What?!" Sakura cried, looking at Naruto open-mouthed. Sasuke cursed inwardly. He had been wondering how the idiot had been able to create so many shadow clones during the final test._

_Kakashi waved a hand, "Some people are just born with a naturally large amount of chakra." The black haired boy wasn't buying it and by the flush of Naruto's cheeks the other boy knew their teacher was lying. "Now, how do we increase chakra capacity?"_

_"You have to increase the two types of energy chakra comes from," Sakura answered quickly._

_"And those are, someone other than Sakura?"_

_"Physical and mental." Nartuto threw out._

_"Yes and how do we increase the physical?"_

_"Exercise," Sasuke said, feeling a little foolish that he hadn't seen where this conversation was going._

_"Exactly. I don't see the point in teaching you ninjutsu that you won't be able to use effectively, when learning and improving your taijutsu not only allows you a more efficient way to take down an enemy, but also increases your chakra capacity at the same time."_

_"But sensei, you just said I have more chakra than you!" Naruto complained._

_"Yes, and your control is so utterly lacking that you can't even manage a simple clone," Kakashi responded smoothly._

_"Which is why you have been making us do the chakra control exercises," Sakura concluded._

_"Yes. Naruto isn't the only one lacking control," he said with a pointed look at Sasuke. "The fire release techniques you used before wasted a huge portion of your energy." Sasuke grimaced at the critique. "Sakura on the other hand has near perfect control naturally." Said girl managed a small smile at the praise. "It is easier to learn control while your reserves are small. That is why we have been focusing on it so heavily."_

_"Sensei, what are some ways we can increase the mental side of our capacity?" Sakura questioned._

_"The mental is a bit more difficult actually, but it can be increased through meditation and study. You also gain it through simply living and gaining experience."_

_"So you're not going to teach us ninjutsu until when exactly?" Naruto asked, not looking at all happy with the situation. Sasuke had to grudgingly agree with the idiot. He had learned some of his family's fire jutsu years ago and now he was a genin and being told he couldn't handle them? The frown was now permanent on his face._

_"Until I feel like it."_

Kakashi ignored their groans at his answer and instructed them to get back to work after he answered Naruto's question. They had all learned that there was a method, or probably a method to the man's madness.

Sasuke's thoughts drifted to the second thread of thoughts occupying his head space. He winced briefly as Sakura's foot made solid and painful contact with the soft part of his thigh. He needed to pay more attention. It was nearly impossible though, he was already cycling through everything that was said.

He was angry at the insinuation that they were meant to fail the team test. Uchiha didn't fail. He could follow the reasoning behind Sakura's conclusion, but that didn't stop him from becoming angry about it. Some of that anger was directed at himself. Maybe even a week or two ago he would have been happy to hear it had all been a mistake, that he was indeed worth individual training. A part of him was happy even now, and he was all the more angry at feeling guilty over it.

Sasuke caught a punch from his teammate and used her momentum to flip her over, aiming to bring her down on her back, but Sakura twisted and landed on one foot. Pivoting she kicked at his knee with her other leg causing him to disengage to avoid the painful blow.

The pink haired girl dropped her fighting stance. Her light coloured brows knit together. "You're not focusing," she accused.

Sasuke was saved from answering by Kakashi arriving in the training field.

"Good morning my wonderful minions!" He got three glares in answer. "Ma, you don't seem very happy today." Naruto put down the twin practice knives he had been working with while Sasuke and Sakura approached their team leader.

When they all came together Sasuke saw Sakura share a look with Naruto. The pink haired girl nudged him softly. "Kakashi-sensei, do you think, well maybe, umm," the blonde struggled to find the words blushing softly.

Sakura sighed and cut in, "Do you think we could take a mission soon sensei?"

Kakashi blinked his one eye in surprise. "You want to take a D-rank instead of training?" Both Sakura and Naruto nodded. "Sasuke?" The black haired boy saw Naruto glance at him from the corner of his eye. Sasuke jerked his head in ascent. "Well, I suppose if that's what you all want. We needed to go to the Hokage Tower today anyway to pick up your salary for the month." The jônin turned on his heel to head back towards the village.

"Our, salary?" Naruto nearly choked on his question.

Kakashi looked over his shoulder, "Yes, come along we don't want to dawdle." The irony in that statement.

"But we haven't completed any missions!" the blonde cried in confusion. Sasuke glanced at his teammate. He knew Naruto was an orphan, but he always assumed like himself the blonde's family left money for him. It was uncomfortable to think about how wrong he he was.

"No, but you still get a base salary for this month. It's there for when you're on injury leave or can't make a living wage while doing D-ranks. Every year you are also entitled to one month's time of training leave. As your team leader, I took the liberty of signing you all up for this month."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Naruto demanded, burning a hole in the back of his sensei's head as they walked.

Kakashi's head tipped back as he looked skyward. "I guess it slipped my mind."

Sasuke snorted and bit down at the frustration he felt on his teammate's behalf. Naruto was anxious all week, but it wasn't till yesterday that the blonde told his teammates the reason behind it. Sakura was also glaring at their so-called team leader.

They traveled the rest of the time in silence. They stopped at the mission pay office on the third floor of the Hokage Tower and collected their first month of pay as genin. Money didn't matter much to Sasuke as he had more than he could need, but something in his chest tightened as he watched Naruto carefully count out the amount and do what looked like some mental math, before smiling in relief. The blonde looked up and their eyes met for a second. Naruto flushed and Sasuke quickly looked away.

"Hatake-san?" Said jônin looked up from a certain book.

"Yes?" Kakashi answered. The man asking was obviously a paper pusher despite wearing a hitai-ate.

"The Hokage would like to see you."

"Excellent! Children, shall we?"

The paper pusher frowned slightly. "Um, sir I believe the Hokage wanted to see you alone."

"Well, seeing as my students are here it would be a shame not to present them to the Hokage," the silver haired jônin argued with a smile and a head tilt. Sasuke could see the toothpick like man was severely uncomfortable with this. Glancing at his teacher, the boy wondered not for the first time if Kakashi's ridiculous behavior and odd mannerisms were a mask of their own.

"I don't think-," the man began, but the masked jônin was already walking away from him and up the stairs toward the Hokage's office and the three genin followed along after him.

Naruto was snickering into his palm and even Sakura had a mischievous smile on her face. Sasuke himself smirked.

The door guards let them pass by without fanfare but the secretary seated outside threw a nasty look at their team leader. Sasuke sent her a glare and to her credit she simply raised an eyebrow in return.

The Hokage was seated behind his desk, pipe in mouth and a pile of paperwork strewn across his desk. It had probably been a year or two since Sasuke had seen the man in person. He looked old.

"Ahh, Kakashi, and I see you brought your students," the Hokage greeted. If the man was irritated by their presence he didn't show it.

"Yes, well I was helping them collect their training leave salary," Kakashi explained not making eye contact with their village leader. Sasuke observed this with a small amount of confusion.

"Good, good, and how has their first month been?"

"I would say they have improved. Ya know, I don't know why I haven't taken a team before. It is actually rather fun." Team 7 flinched at the way their teacher said the word fun.

"Kakashi, you failed all the other teams you were given," the older man said with a bemused smile. Sasuke's eyes widened marginally. That was an interesting tidbit of information.

Kakashi simply waved a hand and said, "Well, that wasn't my fault."

The Third sighed, "Do you think Team 7 is now ready to take on a mission? Their peers have already completed quite the number of D-ranks."

Sasuke noticed Sakura and Naruto steal a glance at each other with hope in their eyes.

"Actually I have a request."

The last Uchiha tensed slightly, trying to keep his face stoic. He could almost hear Naruto grinding his teeth in an effort to keep his mouth shut and Sakura's sharp intake of breath.

"Oh, Let's hear it."

"I heard through the grape vine that the mission outpost in the outskirts of Takikawa city is to be renovated and reopened." Team 7 looked sideways at their teacher wondering what the hell he was on about.

"You heard correctly." The older man lost a bit of his good mood and was frowning slightly around his pipe.

"I request permission for Team 7 to over see the renovations and initial start up of the outpost and take missions from there for three months."

Silence.

Sasuke looked over at Naruto who appeared to be having some sort of seizure. If Kakashi hadn't previously beat into him that talking out of turn was not acceptable the blonde would not have been able to control himself. Even Sakura looked like she wanted to speak up. Sasuke had a sneaking suspicion that she had a few choice words for the man.

"I can see that you haven't spoken to your team about this," the Third observed.

"Does their opinion matter?" The Hokage was actually frowning at this question and Sasuke was confused by Kakashi's response. That morning the man had made sure that they had consensus before agreeing to allow them to take on a D-rank mission.

"As their team leader you know very well that they must follow you, but I would like to hear their opinion on the matter, " the Hokage cast his disappointed gaze away from Kakashi and looked towards the genin.

The three looked at each other. Sakura bit her lip showing she was unsure. Sasuke guessed it was about being away from the village for so long. Naruto looked contemplative and Sasuke remembered that he had never been outside the surrounding area of the village.

The black haired genin quickly weighed everything in his mind. Both Naruto and Sakura wanted to take missions. Sasuke had to admit that there would be some benefit to that. Naruto wanted to go outside the village and Sasuke couldn't help but feel the same. He hadn't been out since… The genin also thought there were far more reasons Kakashi wanted them to take this posting than he would admit any time soon.

He jerked his head down firmly showing his support for the proposal.

Sakura's lips firmed before she too nodded. Naruto tilted his chin to Sakura, saying he thought she should be the one to speak, and Sasuke showed his agreement by looking back towards the Hokage's watching eyes.

Sakura cleared her throat, "We agree with our team leader. This would be a great opportunity for us."

"Oh, how so?"

Sakura barely paused before answering, "Though we have yet to complete a mission, we have worked hard over the last month to improve and correct any skills lacking from the Academy. Kakashi-sensei has instructed us not only in physical aspects of shinobi life, but he has also made us more aware of the goings on outside the village. This mission will put that knowledge to use and allow us to see its real world application and importance. Takikawa is a prosperous city that lies on the only land boarder between Fire and Water country. Because of its location, I would estimate that nearly half the city's shinobi contracts go to Kirigakure. An outpost would no doubt increase the contracts Konoha would receive from this area. Do to Kiri's continued unrest, now would be the best time to reopen the outpost."

Sasuke kept his face stoic, but inwardly he was impressed. He knew only the location of the city.

"Well said, but this would no doubt be a C-rank mission or possibly B-rank mission. Chûnin would normally be sent on such a mission. Why should I send a group of untried genin?"

The last Uchiha could nearly see the cogs behind Sakura's eyes running at full steam. "Sending a team of chûnin would cost more not only in mission pay but also in the money that team of chûnin would have brought in had they been doing other missions. It would only be ranked such because of the length of duration and the risk of the location," Sakura answered her voice faltering slightly. Naruto and Sasuke both shifted minutely toward her in a show of support. "If we remove both those factors it would no doubt be a D-rank. Kakashi-sensei is an S-class shinobi. His presence greatly diminishes the risk, and as for the duration, well it doesn't matter does it?"

The Third removed the pipe from his mouth as he sat back. "You have two months to get the outpost up and running. By the end of those two months I expect that the mission revenue from the area increase by at least ten percent. Once you arrive I want an estimation of the cost of renovation and an estimated completion date. When the building is finished I will send an administrative chûnin to man the mission office. You will be expected to not only take missions in the area, but support the daily business and upkeep of the outpost." The Hokage's wrinkled eyes appraised their reaction to this appointment. "As your teacher is quite experienced in the comings and goings of outpost life I expect you to perform above and beyond expectations.

Sasuke swallowed thickly, wondering exactly what they had gotten themselves into.

"You are dismissed." Sakura bowed and both Naruto and Sasuke followed her example a beat later. They headed to the door together with Kakashi taking the rear. "Kakashi," the Hokage called before the jônin had made it through the door. The three genin paused as well, looking back. "Do not think you can pull something like this again." As Kakashi turned back around to resume walking Sasuke thought he saw a flash of irritation before their sensei's face turned placid.

There was something going on that he and his teammates were not privy to, but it definitely concerned them Sasuke thought.

* * *

Sakura's mind was reeling after the meeting with the Hokage. She could barely remember what she said, but whatever it was it was fucking brilliant. She couldn't stop the self-congratulatory smile that spread like wild fire across her face. Though she was still giddy from her success, dread at what she was going to tell her parents began to poison her good mood.

Sakura was glad that she was too busy to spend much time at home. The fighting had ended and in its wake the silence was stifling. Sakura couldn't help but feel that she somehow was responsible for their fighting. Her mother was proud and encouraging at the beginning of her genin training, but now the two barely spoke. Her mother's continued silent treatment hurt Sakura deeply.

With her mother's silence, feelings of inadequacy had come to creep into the genin's mind.

The only time Chiho interacted with her daughter now, was to help her fix her hair and cluck over her appearance. The fact that her beautiful, flawless mother was hemming and hawing over her looks was greatly troubling to Sakura.

Chiho had given her daughter the pink hair she was named for. The older woman's own hair was darker in color but undeniably pink. It hadn't helped Sakura's self-esteem, when spending time at the playground as a child all the other mother's gushed over Chiho's looks, but then in the same breath would comment how much Sakura took after her father.

The first time Sakura had come home crying after being teased by other kids for her wide forehead, Chiho had wrapped her in the warmest of hugs and told her daughter that she was beautiful inside and out and smart to boot. Her mother's kind words were nowhere to be found now. Sakura would come home with bruises and hair matted with sweat and her mother would just frown and fuss.

Haruno Tatsuki also praised his daughter's brains once upon a time. Whenever he would return home he would bring a book from his travels. Sakura loved his surprises up until Ino had shown her the pretty trinkets her father would bring back from his missions. What good was a book when Ino's bejeweled hairpins won her the envy of all the girls in the schoolyard? Soon Sakura began to resent whenever one of her parents called her smart. She didn't want to be smart. She wanted to be pretty, like Ino.

Up until Kakashi's test Sakura hadn't been able to see that being smart got you anything other than a pat on the head.

Now her father didn't seem to care that his smart daughter was actually making something of herself. At first her mother's encouragement had eased the sting of Tatsuki's condemnation of her chosen career, but it didn't fully shield Sakura from the pain.

And now, now she didn't even have that from her mother to soothe her hurt.

It had been a good day. Sakura and Naruto had taken Sasuke down for the first time on a two on one spar and the three of them working together had been able to track Kakashi-sensei successfully through the forest.

Sakura was aching and bruised as usual, but flushed with pride at the day's achievements. It wasn't even 9:00 at night and she was getting home, which meant she could have a nice long bath before bed.

She silently made her way into the house seeing that the light was on in her father's study. She passed the door to the study quickly, but was called back. "Sakura." The genin bit her lip. Nothing good ever happened when her father used that tone. Sakura entered the room and saw that her mother was there too, mending some clothes.

"Yes, dad," Sakura said, coming to stand in front of her father's desk. Familiar green eyes took in her grubby appearance and the girl tried not to flinch at the scrutiny.

"This nonsense has to stop."

Sakura blinked in confusion, shooting a glance at her mother whose head remained bowed over her work. "What?" the girl asked off kilter at his proclamation.

"Tomorrow I want you to inform your jônin sensei that you quit. You will be joining me on the next buying trip. It's time you started learning the business."

Sakura gaped, open-mouthed at her father. Quit? Quit, after all she had already been through? Quit after she had only just a few days ago decided she wanted this. Quit, and leave Sasuke and Naruto behind? Her father was still talking.

"You were not meant to continue this silly dream after the Academy at all."

Silly dream. Is that what it was? Sakura knew she was the weak link in Team 7. She wasn't as skilled as Sasuke or as tenacious as Naruto. How she had ever thought differently… But to just up and quit because her father decided to finally spend some time with her? Yeah, fuck that, a strong voice in her mind declared.

"No." The confidence in her voice was strange even to her own ears.

Her father frowned. "Excuse me?"

"No," she repeated.

"Sakura this is not up for discussion your mother and I have already decided."

The sting of betrayal was sharp and swift, but now Sakura was too angry to care. "No, I am doing exactly what I want. I am a kunoichi of Konohagakure." Sakura saw her mother raise her head out of the corner of her eye.

"No, you are my twelve year old daughter." Her father's face clouded over with anger and inwardly Sakura shrank. She hated to make either of her parents upset. She hated even the idea that they were angry or disappointed in her, but she wasn't giving up her team. "You will quit tomorrow or I will meet with your teacher and do it my self. "

Tatsuki was livid at this point. Sakura supposed it was because she had never been willfully disobedient. Imagining just how that meeting would go momentarily amused her. "He will not accept that. As a genin, I am seen as an adult." It was the wrong thing to say.

The angry man came to his feet and brought his hand down against his desk with a bang. "You are my child and you will listen to me!"

"Dad, I want, no I am a kunoichi. I know you aren't happy about it but its what I am!"

"You don't even know what that word means! Do you realize that one day you will have to kill. That one day you might not," her father choked slightly, "you might not come back? And you!" The husband turned to his wife, "This whole time you have been encouraging her, our only daughter to run off and get herself killed!" His voice broke just as a wave of understanding washed over Sakura.

Logically the girl knew it was a possibility, but she had never thought how her dying might affect her parents. Her mother muffled a sob with her hand in the corner. The anger in the room cooled as quickly as it had blossomed.

Could she go back? Could she stop now, after finding her resolve?

"Why did you even let me join the Academy?"

There was a beat before Chiho answered, "You were having so many problems with other children, you would come home crying nearly everyday. Then you met Ino-chan. We thought it would be good for you, that it would build your self-confidence.

Her father rubbed his face. "It's rare that children from non-shibobi families pass the final genin test, or so I was told."

"You didn't think I would pass…" It was like Kakashi's fist caught her in the stomach.

"Sakura, I…" her mother began, but whatever she said Sakura didn't hear it. She could understand her father's fear. After all, she didn't want to die, but for him to think she couldn't pass?"

"I'm going to bathe now." She needed to get out she couldn't stay here and look at them.

Tatsuki opened up his mouth to say something, but Chiho cut in, "Ok honey, we'll talk about it more at breakfast." Sakura left without another word.

The morning after her father's proclamation Sakura got up and followed the same routine she had been following for nearly four weeks. She woke up, packed herself left over's and made fresh rice before either of her parents woke up.

She was halfway through her conditioning regime before she realized that she wasn't supposed to be at the training grounds. She stopped doing sit ups and just hung from the tree branches by her chakra infused feet.

Beside her Naruto and Sasuke both paused.

"Sakura-chan, is something wrong?" Naruto asked.

The girl looked at them both. No, she decided. Nothing was wrong. Shaking her head she mustered a smile and continued.

"Oi sensei! What's this about us leaving Konoha for three months?" The blonde looked up questioningly at his teacher.

"I will answer any questions I want to answer, but we will leave it for tomorrow. You no doubt have lots to prepare. You all have camp packs correct?" Sakura nodded. They had been required to buy a basic bedroll and traveling bag in the Academy when they learned how to set up temporary lodging. "Good, I have two tents we can use so that covers that and I will also prepare travel rations. We will be gone for quite some time but pack as light as possible. It will only take a few days to reach the city and we will resupply there."

A few days, Sakura thought dazedly. She knew that it took nearly two weeks for her father's caravan to get there from Konoha. They were going make the trip in a few days?!

"Do bring any training materials you think you will need tomorrow morning. I will have packing scrolls to seal them in. You're dismissed for the rest of the day." Kakashi tapped his chin. "I'm forgetting something… oh right. Sasuke." Said boy stiffened as he was singled out. "You can't wear your clan symbol outside the village."

Sakura and Naruto shared a look before subtly backing away from their teammate who was now leaking anger out his pores.

"I am an Uchiha, it is my right and duty to wear-"

"Yes, yes you are very proud to be Uchiha, we know," Kakashi said, waving a hand. Sakura sighed as the jônin stepped directly onto a land mine. "Before you blow a gasket think for a moment. You are one of the last people in the world who carries the blood of the sharingan. Do you know what that makes you?"

Sakura drew in a sharp breath. Sasuke, however didn't seem to understand. Sakura could tell he was still too angry to think properly.

"It makes you a target for those who wish to remove the power of the sharingan from Konoha. Or worse you are a commodity worth capturing alive."

"How could alive be worse?" Naruto asked.

"You are supposed to be the imaginative one," Kakashi accused, looking slightly disappointed. "Sasuke is twelve, more than old enough, I would think and if not it would be a short wait."

Sakura flushed at the implication. "Sasuke wouldn't-," she began.

"I don't think Sasuke would have much of a choice in the matter."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto huffed, irritated that he wasn't following the conversation. Sakura was beet red at this point and Sasuke looked to be turning a bit green.

"Why harvesting Sasuke's sperm of course," Kakashi said as if pointing out the sky was blue.

"What!" Naruto squawked looking equal parts disturbed and outraged.

"So, as I said lose the clan symbol unless you want to end up dead or forced into fathering an army of little Sasukes." Sakura didn't dare look at Sasuke as Kakashi turned to leave. "Be at the training ground by six tomorrow morning ready to leave." The man poofed away leaving behind three scarred genin.

"Dude…" Naruto started, "I think I am gonna have to agree with Kakashi-sensei on this one."

Sasuke's mouth worked but little sound came out.

"Sasuke… are you alright?" Sakura asked. It was a stupid question. Sakura wasn't alright and that conversation hadn't even been about her.

Sasuke closed his eyes, jaw twitching. "If I can't wear my clan symbol the idiot can't wear that stupid orange jumpsuit."

"Oi! Why are we making this about me? I'm not the one with the damn super sperm!"

"Naruto don't say that word," Sakura hissed. The girl shuddered and tried to focus on thoughts that didn't revolve around Sasuke's…stuff. "Why don't we all get some new clothes?" She needed to anyway. The dress she wore, though pretty was not made of the sturdiest fabric. Sakura wasn't sure how many more times her mother could mend it.

"But…" Naruto's protest was soft and he shifted uncomfortably.

"I can loan you the money," Sasuke said. Sakura bit her lip. She hadn't thought about the money.

"I'm not some charity case," Naruto snapped hotly.

"That's why I said loan dumbass. Try and keep up," Sasuke sneered.

"Bastard!" Naruto roared grabbing the front of his teammates shirt.

Well that escalated quickly, Sakura thought. Raising both arms she smacked them round their heads so their foreheads crashed together. "Enough! Naruto, neither Sasuke nor myself will think any less of you if you borrow some money. We know you will pay it back. Sasuke you could use a lesson in diplomacy. Now lets get to it. We still have a lot to do before tomorrow."

Sakura strode purposefully towards the shopping district, not looking back to see if they followed her. The girl calculated what she needed in her head as she walked, ignoring the continued tension between her teammates. Boys.

She stopped outside of Sato's Shinobi Wears. Her father did business at this shop and she knew there was a good chance the owner would give her a discount. The boys came to stand beside her and she told them as much.

"Let's just get this over with," Naruto said through clenched teeth. The blonde went ahead first. Sakura gave Sasuke a look. Sasuke simply raised an eyebrow in return as if to say it wasn't his fault. Sighing Sakura entered the shop.

"…I won't sell to ya! Get out of my- Sakura-chan!" Sato-san himself was behind the counter. Pity, the pink haired girl had been hoping his wife would be minding the shop today. Sakura took in the scene before her quickly. Naruto looked like he was ready to explode and the shop owner looked nearly ready to come around the counter.

"Sato-san," Sakura managed a sweet smile, "my teammates and I need new attire for an upcoming mission."

"Teammates?" the shopkeeper repeated.

"Yes, teammates," Sakura said again, indicating both Naruto and Sasuke who had come up beside her.

"But," Sato spluttered for a moment, "Your father mentioned you were going to work for him the last time we spoke."

Both her teammates stiffened and Sakura's smile fell. "Plans change. Is there a problem? We can always go to Miyako's?" Catching on to her plan Sasuke made to leave flashing the Uchiha symbol on his back as he did so.

Sharp green eyes took in the portly man's change in face when he saw the symbol.

"No! No problem at all! Let me know if there is anything I can do for you!" The pink haired genin couldn't help but feel slightly slimy as she smiled again. Sakura began to grab an assortment of articles from the racks as she quickly made her way to the back of the store.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered.

"Wait," was all she said in return.

Once they had reached the back of the shop, she hastily pulled the curtain to the small dressing area open, nearly tearing it and shoved both boys in ignoring Naruto's protests. She violently closed the curtain as she too entered.

"What's this about you going to work for your dad?" Naruto asked and Sakura tried not to feel hurt over the accusation in his voice.

The girl sighed. "My father isn't happy that I am kunoichi. He, he didn't think I would actually become a genin after I graduated the Academy." Looking up at the boys she saw there were both confused.

"He thought you would just quit after you got through the boring bullshit of the Academy and finally got to the good part?" Her loud teammate was surprisingly quiet in his incredulity.

Sakura paused before she admitted that her father hadn't believed she would pass the final test.

They had already covered this in the earlier discussion at the ramen shop. Sakura didn't want to reveal that the root of her issues was her own father's lack of confidence in her abilities. "It's not important. I don't plan on quitting." Sakura's eyes lingered on Naruto for a moment, wondering if she should ask about the scene she and Sasuke walked into, but decided it would be better left alone for now. "Lets just get this over with."

Shopping didn't take as long as they all had expected it would. After training for a month they had a better idea of what they each wanted from their clothing. Sasuke put his foot down when it came to loud colours, so all their clothing was either neutral or black. Sakura helped the boys choose the fabric most suited to their needs. They were out of the store within two hours.

Sakura haggled with Sato to get the price of their clothes lowered. When the time came to pay she was a little concerned about Naruto becoming upset again, but the boy allowed Sasuke to pay for some of his things without much fuss.

Sakura didn't fail to notice the shop owner glare daggers at her teammate. Sakura couldn't help but feel her temper rise.

Perhaps she could slip into her father's office tonight and find something she could use against the man in the future. Sato's was more expensive than his competitors, but the craftsmanship of the pieces was higher quality. She and her teammates would no doubt be back in the future.

Sakura arrived home to an empty house and quickly began to pack up her travel bag. She was in the middle of getting her toiletries into travel-sized bottles when she felt her mother enter the house. Finishing what she was doing Sakura took a breath. Might as well get it over with.

Chiho must have come back from the market as the kitchen was littered with food goods, when Sakura entered the kitchen.

"Mom," Sakura said in greeting.

Her mother who had been bent over with her head in the fridge jumped with a squeak and whirled around. "Sakura!," the older woman gasped pressing her palm against her chest. "You scared me," she admonished. "Is something the matter? Why are you home so early?"

Sakura bit her lip before throwing caution to the wind. "I am leaving on a mission tomorrow."

"Leaving? As in leaving the village?" Chiho asked softly. Sakura nodded. Chiho sat at the table and gestured for Sakura to do the same. "For how long?"

Sakura ducked her head. She wanted to be angry. She wanted to ask why her mother cared suddenly cared. Her mom had spoken barely a word to her in five days. But she couldn't be angry when she saw the grief in the older woman's blue eyes. "Two months."

Her mother's sharp intake of breath made Sakura bite her lip again. "I see." Sakura stood. The message had been delivered there was nothing else to say. "Sakura." The girl froze and looked up at her mother's smiling face. "I'm so proud of you."

Sakura breathed trying to suppress the tears that were quickly coming to the surface. "Why?" was all she managed to choke out. All the hurt and anguish she felt over the last week rose to the surface.

"Oh my baby." Chiho stood and encircled Sakura in a hug. "The last thing I want is for you to get hurt but you have been so happy since you joined the team. I knew I could never take that away from you."

"But dad said," Sakura refuted shaking her head against her mother's shoulder.

"Your father is worried for your safety and doesn't know how better to deal with it."

Pulling back slightly to look at her mom Sakura wiped at her face. "But why all the terrible words against shinobi? I know a lot of them are true in a certain light, but we live in a shinobi village."

Sakura saw her mother's face freeze at her question. "That has nothing to do with you, put it out of your mind."

The young girl nodded and tried not to think about how her mother pressed her lips together, a habit she did when she was hiding something. "Did you really think I wouldn't pass?" Sakura whispered.

"Oh Sakura," Chiho said as she pulled her daughter in for another tight hug. "I believe you can do anything you set your mind to. You are so much smarter and stronger than I was at your age."

Sakura breathed in her mother's scent and stopped thinking about anything other than how good it felt to be hugged.

* * *

Naruto was surprised by a knock on his door that night and even more surprised to open the door to see his one eyed teacher with a cardboard box in his hands. Kakashi wasn't one to make house calls.

"Uhh sensei?" Naruto greeted dumbly.

"Good evening my favorite blonde student!" his teacher greeted in return.

"Would you like to come in?" Naruto asked throwing a questioning glance at his apartment that was in no shape to receive guests.

"No no no, I am sure you are busy preparing for tomorrow, I just wanted to come by and give you these." The jônin lifted the box he was carrying and Naruto held out his arms to receive it.

"What are these exactly?"

"Well, I haven't looked in here for a while but these were some scrolls my sensei gave me when I started out learning fûinjutsu. There might be some ninjutsu mixed in there too, but I thought with your interest in sealing you might want to have them. Take a look through them tonight and see if you wanted to bring any of it along," Kakashi explained as he handed the box off to Naruto.

The genin took the box, not knowing what to say as his throat tightened, making it difficult to swallow. In his entire life he could count on one hand the amount of times he had been given anything. "Thank you Kakashi-sensei," he said finally, not looking up at the man.

"No problem. I best get going still haven't started packing myself. This elderly gentlemen needed help fixing his radio." With that the silver haired shinobi left and Naruto slowly closed the door to his apartment.

Setting the box on the table he excitedly cut through the tape holding it closed. There were indeed scrolls inside and Naruto quickly began sorting through them. There were fûinjutsu scrolls, ninjutsu scrolls, some blank scrolls and then at the bottom of the box a small book.

Thinking that his sensei had probably thrown the book in at some point and forgotten it, Naruto flipped it open and was surprised to see it wasn't a book but a photo album. The first picture he happened to flip to was one of a much younger Kakashi and what looked like his genin team.

Naruto stared at the young faces. Kakashi looked serious and stoic and notably didn't cover his left eye. The black haired genin in the picture was sticking out his tongue and flashing the peace sign with one of his hands. The boy realized it must be Uchiha Obito, the boy who taught Kakashi what it was to be a team. The female teammate was pretty. Naruto wondered where she was now.

Naruto hesitated before he flipped to the next page. Kakashi had probably given this to him by mistake. It would be an invasion of privacy if he continued looking through it. But, what if there was a picture of Kakashi without his mask? Curiosity won.

Flipping the pages he got a shock when he recognized another team picture with a very famous shinobi in it. The Fourth Hokage's face smiled up at him surrounded by Kakashi's team. Naruto blinked in shock. Kakashi's sensei had been the Fourth Hokage!

There were some other faces that appeared, a woman with long red hair, a man in a green jumpsuit, a man with long white hair and a very buxom blonde woman.

Hurridly, Naruto began to flip the pages quicker, but stopped when he realized that Uchiha Obito no longer made an appearance and Kakashi's hitai-ate was slanted. Obito must have died, Naruto thought. His teacher looked older, and the third teammate's face always had a tight smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Naruto thought for a moment that he should stop looking through it as he doubted there were any pictures of a maskless Kakashi, when he came across the Fourth and the red haired woman holding hands. He had not known that the Fourth had been married. Perhaps they hadn't been, but he could see the two cared deeply for each other.

He flipped to the next page and saw that the next few were of just the Fourth and the woman, and a few more flips the woman was revealed to be pregnant by the bulge of her stomach and the Fourth kneeling in front of it.

He had definitely never heard of the Fourth having a child. Reaching the end of the book he came to the last picture. It was the woman, who was large and round holding Kakashi's hand to her stomach with a large grin on her face despite the reluctant look on Kakashi's.

What had happened to the child, Naruto wondered. How could the child of the most celebrated Hokage in history not be known through out Konoha?

The corner of the picture was bent out of shape. Naruto tried to bend it back into the slit where it was supposed to be held, but only managed to pull the other corners out of their slots. Sighing he picked the picture up to straighten it out properly.

Markings on the back of the picture caught his attention. He turned it over and his heart nearly stopped as he read the words written on the back.

_Kushina, Kakashi and baby Naruto_

* * *

A/N: First let me say thank you to everyone who left a comment and another thank you to those of you that have commented more than once. It always makes me ridiculously happy to read them.

Kleio96: I was like how did you know where I was going when I read your comment. I did end up giving the memorial speech kind of. I hope it didn't disappoint. Also another point on Kakashi's character which I hope came across in this chapter but maybe not is that Kakashi isn't comfortable with opening up to his team quite yet. He understands the necessity of the kids learning from his experiences but he still can't connect emotionally with his team.

The Hate Child: I have to agree with your point about Naruto. The truth is Naruto is the most tiring for me to write which I didn't really expect. I really thought that would go to Sasuke because I hate canon Sasuke with a passion. But no Naruto is the most difficult. I think it's because Naruto is furthest away from my own personality. I already had a majority of this chapter written when I read your comment but I will try my best in the future to make Naruto more, well Naruto

I know this chapter was light on Kakashi. Next time I promise.

I won't have the next update quite so fast I am sorry to say but under two weeks I promise.

I also did the very standard new clothes schtick. I think it is honestly necessary. The idiocy of having someone with a rare bloodline limit wear a shirt that proclaims it is just too much.

My apologies for grammar mistakes or typos.


	4. Chapter 4 A Good Shinobi is Hard to Find

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 4: A Good Shinobi is Hard to Find

* * *

Kakashi found a seat at the back of the small drinking establishment. Though he had plenty of prep to do that night he had a social call to make before he turned in. The Nail's Head, his favorite drinking establishment, was a little off the beaten path and frequented by mostly blue-collar civilians. It had become one of his favorite hidey-holes because of its delicious fried potato wedges and service that wasn't overly friendly. Overly friendly people had always made the reclusive jônin anxious. It was the friendly ones you had to watch out for. They tended to have agendas.

He had already put an order for the food at the bar along with two beers. It was rare for Kakashi to arrive before whomever he was meeting, but as a teacher his schedule was far more predictable than it had once been.

Not that his schedule was the reason why he showed up to things late. But good food and good beer was a sure way to make Kakashi arrive on time, especially when the company that he was expecting was someone Kakashi actually cared to be on time for.

While Kakashi waited he mulled over his choice to give Naruto the box of his father's old things. Minato-sensei had been a little manic about documenting things with photography. It was little known but the man had a rather artistic streak. Taking a sip of his first beverage of the night the jônin decided it was something that had to be done. It would no doubt lead to some trouble but keeping it from the boy didn't make sense anymore.

Tenzô, punctual as ever plopped down across from him just as a waiter dropped off the potato wedges and Kakashi's musings came to an end.

"Yo," Kakashi greeted.

"Been some time senpai." There was no accusation in Tenzô's voice, but the older shinobi wouldn't have been surprised had there been.

After being discharged from ANBU, Kakashi hadn't been at his best. ANBU had given him purpose after losing Rin. It gave him direction and the structure he needed, but it was also a crutch for his grief and other issues.

The time watching over Kushina had been exactly what he had needed at the time. Kushina was the antithesis of what a kunoichi should be. She was loud, hot headed and compassionate to a fault. Naruto was so much like his mother and he didn't even know it.

After the Fox everything started to go down hill. The Third made him a captain in the wake of the massive loss of life. The new appointment left little time for Kakashi to process which was exactly what he wanted but not at all what he needed.

His time in ANBU was by no means awful. The work wasn't always clean but ANBU were a close-knit group and they supported each other. As a captain though the responsibility of his team's safety weighed on him. Every time a member was injured or killed it was a blow to his already fragile state of mind that was barely keeping it together under the surface.

The Uchiha massacre had been a breaking point. Itachi had been a member of his squad before the young man was promoted to captaincy. Kakashi never saw anything in the genius Uchiha to suggest he was capable of slaughtering his entire clan. By all means Itachi had been an efficient and reliable member of his squad. When review time came around Kakashi only had good things to say. He didn't quite think the young man was ready to lead a squad but at the time he didn't say anything against it. Perhaps if he had… things would be different now.

He had been a first responder to the compound. By then though it was all over. If Kakashi hadn't lived through the Third Shinobi War and the Kyûbi attack he would have lost his dinner. Many less experienced ANBU did in fact lose theirs.

It was a blood bath. No one was spared, not even the children or the elderly.

Only one left alive.

The Third soon announced Itachi's guilt, far too soon for Kakashi's liking. Once the announcement came and ANBU squads were reassigned from collecting evidence to hunting down the man, boy really, who had committed the atrocities.

It didn't seem right. None of it was right. None of it made sense even at the time, but all Kakashi could think about was how he had read the other shinobi so wrong, and with this failure and betrayal of someone Kakashi called friend the famous Copy-nin broke.

He hadn't gone on a rampage, but things began to slip. When he was on missions he was reckless. He took missions that he wasn't supposed to return from and every time he came back alive he quickly signed up for another. When he wasn't on a mission he locked himself in his apartment and got trashed while brooding over his survivor's guilt.

And that was how Gai found him one night, nearly blind drunk and still injured from a mission he had returned from. If Gai hadn't come knocking his injuries could have been fatal.

His discharge from ANBU on paper was an honorable one but that was more of a gift from the Hokage for his years of service. After leaving ANBU he fell off the face of the planet.

It wasn't a time he was proud of or wanted to revisit any time soon.

Once he was back on his feet, he began taking missions as a jônin again, but didn't make the effort to reconnect with his old friends in ANBU. Half scared and half tempted to rejoin the corps he knew he wasn't quite ready for that much contact with those actively serving.

"Ah, it has been quite a while," Kakashi agreed with Tenzô's statement. The silence that followed was awkward.

They both preoccupied themselves with their drinks and the food in front of them for a few moments. The parmesan cheese and spices sprinkled on top of the wedges was the perfect touch. Whoever they had working in the kitchen obviously had more taste buds than the usual fry cook.

"You know for someone who didn't grow up in a laboratory as a science experiment your social skills are shit," Tenzô chided with a small smile.

The jônin froze for a moment before a soft genuine chuckle escaped him. Tenzô's smile widened. "I'm sorry for not keeping in touch after I quit."

The brown haired man shook his head. "You needed to get out and leave it in the past. I knew that. Water under the bridge."

Kakashi bowed his head at Tenzô's acceptance of his apology. "How are things?"

"Same old, same old."

"I heard you turned down another captaincy."

"Yugao was a better leader. I never wanted the position anyhow," Tenzô replied with a shrug. "I heard hell froze over and you took on a genin team."

"Weather has been a bit chilly recently," the retired ANBU confirmed.

"How goes it?" Tenzô asked, genuine interest clear in his voice.

Kakashi signaled the bar man for another round for himself and contemplated his answer. "It's better and more frustrating than I expected," he replied honestly. "I got Itachi's little brother, Minato's son and the daughter of some civilians." Kakashi paused and let Tenzô absorb that.

Tenzô was one of the few people to speak out against Itachi joining ANBU. Though not much older than Itachi, when he himself had joined Tenzô had believed the Uchiha to be too young. Perhaps his friend had been right about that one.

"I wanted to ask you something," Kakashi spoke as he quickly popped another wedge into his mouth and chewed.

The ANBU waved his bottle to say continue before taking a swig.

"I'm leaving on a two month long posting in Takikawa."

Tenzô swallowed his last mouthful of beer. "The Hokage is sending you and the genin team?" he asked, naked surprise in his voice.

The other shinobi nodded. "My team's formation was much debated about and there have been some overly interested parties making requests for irregular progress reports."

The younger shinobi's face darkened at 'interested parties'. "The man was always far too interested in anything Uchiha related."

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "I have been a bit vigilant-"

"You mean paranoid," Tenzô snorted.

The silver haired shinobi mock-pouted at being interrupted. "As I was saying I have been keeping a look out for such interest, given Naruto is also on the team I expected plenty, but something … just isn't sitting right."

Tenzô rubbed his chin before asking, "Not enough?"

The older shinobi nodded. "Barely a peep out of the Village Council who so thoroughly fought against the boy becoming shinobi in the first place. All jônin team leaders are required to fill out progress reports on their teams weekly in the first month. I accidentally forgot to turn in a majority of them." That got another snort from the brown haired man who very much doubted that it was on accident. "After the third week of not filling out a report I was summoned before the Hokage and his advisers to give my report in person." Kakashi stopped his story here finishing off what was left of his second beer.

"And…"

"The Hokage wasn't present."

Tenzô frowned at this. "So it was just the two wind bags?"

Kakashi nodded. "They said the Hokage was seeing to another matter. I doubted it, but it was not my place to question them."

The brown-eyed man's eyebrows shot up before he chuckled bitterly. The Third's old teammates and now advisers were well respected among shinobi and civilians of Konoha alike and held quite a bit of power. Tenzô had very little respect for the two as they tended to agree one too many times with Danzô.

"What did you do?" Tenzo asked, half expecting Kakashi to have fed the two some odd story about how his students were busy helping old people down from trees and carrying groceries home for cats.

Kakashi clucked his tongue at the question. "Maa, so little faith. I behaved myself and answered all their questions to the best of my abilities."

"Oh, I'm sure you did," Tenzô chuckled. "Did they get anything intelligible out of you at all?"

The older man shrugged. "Their questions were more telling than my answers. Though Koharu was very much interested in Naruto's development, Homaru was much more interested in the last Uchiha."

"Homaru probably ran right back to Danzô with whatever tidbits of information you fed him," Tenzô concluded. The ANBU tapped the table as he thought. Homaru had always been sympathetic to Danzô despite Danzô's fall from grace after Orochimaru was chased out of the village. "Did you meet with the Third about this?" Tenzô questioned though he felt like he already knew the answer.

Kakashi merely gave him a look in response. "If Hokage-sama didn't know what had happened by the time I left the building he should resign from office." Tenzô brow furrowed over the slightly sharp tone Kakashi directed at their leader, but didn't say anything. The older shinobi shrugged. "I got told off by him today. Probably irritated that I gave the two vultures a reason to question me in person. He is very protective of Naruto."

The silver haired jônin took a moment to ruminate on how the Hokage would take his informing Naruto of his heritage. Not that he had directly told Naruto. The blonde might not even see what was there in front of him. Though Naruto had calmed considerably under his somewhat brutal tutelage and grown in his abilities, the genin was still excitable and easily overlooked things.

Tenzô sighed and rubbed his chin again. The whole Uzumaki Naruto problem had always flummoxed the calm ANBU. He didn't see the point in keeping the boy in the dark about the Fox or his parentage but he was certainly not the right person to call those shots. He had met Uzumaki Kushina a few times and was aware of her relationship with the Fourth as well as the result of that relationship. Wanting to turn the subject away from all things related to that piece of the past he quickly asked, "So did you get much grief for not turning in your reports?"

Kakashi answered. "They barely even berated me for not filling out the reports to begin with, but requested I return to give another oral report of my team's progress."

"Perhaps they have realized your allergy to ink," Tenzô said with a small smirk. The smirk quirked further as he asked, "Is this why you requested the mission in Takikawa?"

"It was more of a happy coincidence," Kakashi said, his mask hiding the mischievous grin that spread across his face at his plan working out so well. He was very much pleased that his wish to take his team out of the village also gave him a reason to not report to the advisers. "But while I am away I won't be able to keep an ear or an eye out-"

"Done, just leave me a scroll to call Pakkun when I have news." Tenzô answered, before Kakashi could even put words to his request. "It will be just like the old days. Now you owe me another couple of beers for this request." The bar had filled throughout their talk and Tenzô had to stand and make his way to the bar to place their order.

Kakashi felt a weight lift off of him. The way he had just abandoned his friendship with Tenzô had always been a regret of his and once again he was shown how his friends were much better people than he was.

Tenzô keeping an eye on things was also a relief.

The meeting had been a bit tenser than Kakashi had let on. Koharu was digging for gold. The old woman wanted a reason, any reason to have Naruto thrown out of the shinobi corps. Homaru had been rather aggressive in his questioning of Kakashi's methods with Sasuke's training and had threatened that if the last Uchiha didn't develop the sharingan by the end of the second month he would be removed form Kakashi's care.

It was a totally empty threat. Only the Hokage could approve such a thing and Kakashi knew that would never happen. Still, the threat showed just how much the esteemed elder and perhaps his friend cared about Sasuke's progress. It had been reckless to reveal this to Kakashi. Both advisers had grown complacent in their power and sway over the on goings of the shinobi corps in the jônin's opinion.

When Tenzô returned with their beers Kakashi took a healthy pull of his own. Something told him this next month would be nowhere near as peaceful as the last.

* * *

The following morning, Kakashi made one last trip to the memorial stone before departing the village. He arrived in the familiar clearing and observed his student crouched in front of the memorial stone. The orange tracksuit was gone, replaced by nondescript dark green jacket and black pants. The ends of the pants were wrapped down similarly to his own. It wasn't even 5:30 yet. Surely the blonde should have been getting all the sleep he could before they left, or scrambling to pack.

"You know I used to come here a lot after Iruka-sensei showed it to us." Naruto didn't turn around to face him. "I read the names over and over, looking for them." Kakashi tried very hard to ignore the quiver in his student's voice. Ah, Naruto had found out. The blonde stood up from his crouch clenching his fists. "No one ever told me they were shinobi. No one ever told me anything," he said with a bitter wet laugh. Kakashi flinched at the sound. The guilt that had grated on him for twelve years left him raw and exposed in the face of the indirect accusation. "Them being shinobi, it was something I made up. I wanted to imagine that they died protecting Konoha. But, I couldn't find them." A single hand waved towards the stone.

Kakashi's feet moved despite his will for them not to and he stepped up to stand behind Naruto on his left side.

"Then I thought they must have not been shinobi. So I went to the library and searched through civilian census records and nothing." Kakashi looked at the back of Naruto's messy blond head with new found respect. He didn't know the boy had even lifted a finger to try and find where he came from. Not a small amount of shame seeped into his chest. "I thought that maybe their friends didn't want anything to do with me because of… well, you know, so that was why no one came forward." The shame was growing. "But again. Nothing. The old man used to tell me that my parents loved me. That they died in the attack. That he didn't know them, but eventually I came to the only conclusion that made sense. He lied to me."

The anger and pain in Naruto's voice was vividly clear. The jônin wanted nothing more than to abandon the situation. He wasn't equipped for this and it was his fault. Because the truth was he failed. He had failed Minato and Kushina and no amount of alcohol or abuse of his body in training or on missions would erase that. No amount of training and attention towards Naruto now would make up for it.

"I thought the only thing he lied about was that my parents loved me. I thought they had just dropped me off at the orphanage and not looked back!" Naruto's voice cracked and he angrily rubbed his tears away.

"They both looked so happy in the pictures. They wanted me right sensei? They wanted me?" The boy was now sobbing, but trying to smother the sound with his fist, shoulders shaking.

Kakashi couldn't find his voice. All of the lies, all of the anger and Naruto just wanted to know if someone had wanted him. Kakashi raised a trembling hand and for a moment it hovered above the halo of blonde hair. He remembered all the times Minato had ruffled his hair as a child. He had always acted annoyed, but he wasn't. It was a gesture of affection. Something he had always denied he needed.

Taking in a shuddering breath Kakashi closed his hand and dropped it back to his side.

"Yes Naruto, they wanted you." Tear filled blue eyes looked up at him and Kakashi not the first time wished he could talk with Minato one last time. But then again the man would probably kill him and Kakashi wouldn't protest. "There was nothing that they wanted more than you." Naruto swallowed and struggled to regain control of his breathing. "I'm…"

I'm sorry you grew up thinking that no one wanted you.

I'm sorry you didn't even know their names.

I'm sorry for all the abuse you suffered.

I'm sorry for all the lies you were told.

I'm sorry I wasn't there for you.

I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough.

I'm sorry I'm still not strong enough.

"Will you tell me about them?" The question broke through the older man's thoughts.

Astonishment was swift and left Kakashi speechless. He had expected rage. He had expected shouting and maybe even a punch or two. Not this. Not this desperate need for acceptance. But why hadn't he?

Hadn't he craved the same when he was a child? Minato, Kushina, Rin, and Obito, they had given it to him without him realizing or asking for it.

But Kakashi had yet to do the same for Naruto.

Well, that was going to change.

"Yes Naruto. I will tell you about them."

Naruto nodded sharply and wiped furiously at his face till all trace of wetness was gone. But it didn't hide the puffiness or the irritated redness of his eyes. He turned back to the stone. "Why aren't their names here?"

It was a question that Kakashi had asked himself numerous times. Why weren't their names on the stone? He never quite got a straight answer from the Third. "Because there is a monument to the Fourth already, because no one was to know of Kushina's relation to you or to the Fourth. Because some people believe the past is better off left in the past in order to protect future generations from the sins of those who came before." His voice was dull and sarcastic to his own ears.

"You followed that example." The tone was biting and in Kakashi's opinion well deserved.

"I did." What excuse could he give his inaction? None. There was nothing that could excuse him. The Hokage had never forbade Kakashi from coming forward, in fact the man on more than one occasion suggested he become involved in Naruto's life. Kakashi ran as fast as he could, which was quite fast, in the opposite direction.

Naruto's mouth set in frustration. The tears were gone now anger having replaced them. "I, I'm so angry," the blonde admitted.

"I believe that is understandable," the older man said softly.

The bitter laughter that fell from the blonde's lips sounded out of place for the twelve year old. "I don't know who I am more angry at, the old man, or you. I started to trust you." Naruto looked up at him quickly and Kakashi could see the surprise the boy felt at letting these words slip.

Words that hurt more than Kakashi cared to contemplate. "Naruto-"

The genin cut him off sharply. "I just, I just need you to teach me and tell me about them. I don't want anything else from you." Before Kakashi could say another word the boy fled the clearing.

Kakashi tilted his head back and turned his face to the rising sun. He let its rays soak into the little skin showing on his face.

You deserved that. You deserved far more than that.

Feeling far older than he was Kakashi gently touched a few of the names on the stone and turned towards the training grounds where his genin would be gathered. It appeared he was going to be late.

Well, this was going to make the next two months a joy. He didn't regret giving Naruto the box though. The boy would be in almost constant contact with him. If there was any way to get past this, whatever this was, Takikawa was the perfect opportunity.

But it didn't change the fact he was terrified.

* * *

Kakashi strode into the familiar grounds and wasn't surprised to see that Naruto wasn't the only one who had changed up his clothes.

Sakura was kneeling on the ground surrounded by numerous scrolls that she no doubt wanted stored. The pink haired girl wore a long wheat-colored, shirt with three quarter length sleeves that was not quite tight, but not loose enough to be a liability. It was long enough to reach low on the girl's thighs and had slits on the sides for mobility. Over this she wore a tighter fitting quilted dark green vest. Her legs were clothed similarly to Naruto's, except she had swapped sandals for ankle boots.

"You're late," the girl tossed over her shoulder without turning around. Their chakra sensing abilities were coming along nicely Kakashi noted.

Sasuke who was sharpening his arsenal near the girl snorted quietly. Kakashi was happy to see the Uchiha fan nowhere on the boy's clothing. The black haired genin was wearing a simple long-sleeved black high-necked shirt with a short-sleeved dark green jacket over it. He had kept his stone colored shorts and sandals.

Naruto strode out from the storage shed with various practice weapons and moved towards his teammates. He purposely didn't acknowledge Kakashi's arrival and the jônin repressed a sigh.

Seeing the three of them dressed similarly tugged at something in him. He wondered if their matching color choice was on purpose or simply coincidence.

They looked like a team as they squabbled over what to take.

Kakashi interrupted them by imposing on their circle and clapping to get their attention. "Ok kids, how about we have a lesson in storage scrolls before we pack up and leave. So how does a storage scroll work?"

"Fûinjutsu," Sakura answered curtly.

Kakashi raised a single eyebrow at her.

Sakura continued, "The sealing array is written onto a scroll. Activating the seals with chakra allows the user to store or retrieve an object or objects of their choice."

"Very good, but can you tell me where the object goes?"

The girl frowned and threw a glance at the boys standing to her left. "Into the scroll?"

Kakashi tutted and gave her a somewhat condescending smile. "Still haven't figured out what the storage sealing array actually does have you? Much more complex than the average shinobi gives it credit for."

Naruto rolled his eyes and flat out glared at his teacher. "A storage sealing array creates a small pocket dimension."

"Correct," Kakashi cried exuberantly giving the boy an eye smile. "Which is why there are very few actually capable of writing these arrays and those that are, are paid very well for it."

"Can't they just be copied?" Sasuke asked glancing down at the unrolled storage scroll and not seeing how exactly it was complicated.

"If you wanted to rip a hole in space and time itself please go right ahead," Kakashi offered with a little 'as you will' wave. He had a moment's enjoyment from Sakura's alarmed face and Sasuke's attempt at hiding his alarm.

Naruto snorted, "That is exaggerating things a bit. No doubt the seal would simply fail."

Kakashi pursed his lips. He knew Naruto was pissed, but the boy really didn't have to ruin his fun. "True. You see an array must be written not only with precision, but the chakra applied to the seals as they are being written must be applied with even more accuracy."

Sakura frowned at this. "If that is the case, no offense Naruto, but how were you able to write your own explosive tags?"

Naruto shrugged to show he wasn't offended but looked thoughtful as well.

"I believe that Naruto while focusing so keenly on writing the seals correctly falls into a meditative state. It is much easier to focus chakra in such a state while in a calm environment without any pressure to perform." Kakashi had developed the theory after watching Naruto create a tag.

The blonde nodded, a light popping on behind his eyes. "It was always easier to practice jutsu after I had written a few tags. Plus, explosive tags, even modified ones aren't storage seals." The teacher nodded at his student's deduction. "But why the hell can't I meditate when I'm actually trying to?" Naruto cried angrily.

Kakashi coughed to cover his chuckle but was saved a reply by the Uchiha on the team plowing on.

"Is it really that difficult?" Sasuke asked looking very skeptical still.

Naruto nodded thinking about his own experience. "Following an array already created doesn't exactly take the sharpest kunai in the holster, but there is a certain finesse to it. Creating a unique array is another matter entirely. Think of the written seals as hand seals but there are few hundred of them and they all react to each other in certain ways. Their positioning in an array also changes their reactions. There is also a bit of mathematics to it as well. The array and the chakra a sealer infuses into it at the time it is written creates a pathway that the activator's chakra follows. It took me loads of tries to alter the basic explosion seal tag." Naruto winced at his last comment and rubbed a spot on his chest in memory.

Sakura blinked at Naruto in surprise. "Why exactly did you do so poorly in the Academy again?"

The blonde flushed and glared at his teammate for bringing up his poor academics. Mumbling incoherently under his breath Naruto snatched a storage scroll from the pile Kakashi had set out for them and began sealing up his goods.

Sasuke and Sakura shared a look before following the genin's example. Kakashi watched it all with his single eye. He was impressed that Naruto understood so much of the theory behind sealing. Though the boy was only able to write explosion tags currently but his ability to modify them was impressive.

Idly the jônin wondered if the knowledge that his father had been a genius at sealing techniques would encourage the boy to study the skill more. Kakashi himself wasn't a slouch when it came to fûinjutsu, but having someone else on the team who was capable of even mediocre fûinjutsu would be useful.

Once they were ready and had redistributed the packs so the weight and goods were evenly spread out Kakashi led them out of the village. As soon as they hit a fork in the road Kakashi turned back to his team who had been following him quietly, chatting amongst themselves.

Naruto's bad mood lifted as soon as they left the village, but he quickly announced his disappointment at there being nothing but trees since they exited the village.

"Now, if we continue on foot at this pace it will take us nearly two weeks to get Takikawa. I want to push hard and fast and reach the city in three days. The pace will be more than normal genin should be able to maintain, but I think you lot can handle it." The three exchanged determined, and bland in one case, looks.

Sakura nodded, jaw set. "We can handle it sensei."

"Piece of cake," Naruto said with a determined grin.

"Good we will be cutting through some rougher terrain in order to save more time. Be careful and keep alert. You are no longer within the walls of the village." His voice darkened as he gave his warning.

Turning towards the east, the jônin pushed off from the ground hard and flew into the trees. His three pupils shadowed him.

He didn't go lightly on them. The pace he set was more akin to evacuating enemy territory than traveling through non-hostile country on route to a non-time sensitive mission. In fact, he intended for them to be absolutely exhausted by the end of the first day. It was risk given that it would leave them exposed if they were caught by an enemy, but Kakashi believed he was in good enough shape to take care of just about anything they came across.

At the height of noon he stopped near a stream for water and a snack. The children didn't speak as they took out their canteens, refilled water and ripped into calorie bars with gusto.

Once they had finished refueling the three removed their outer layers and stuffed them into their packs. Without a word they all looked to him for the direction to continue.

Stuffing away the wrapper of his own piece of cardboard that was passed off as food he threw himself back into the trees. While running Kakashi blocked out all thoughts, keeping his senses alive to his surroundings. The silver haired shinobi could not be distracted by thoughts while his team was exposed for the first time.

When it was time to stop for the night, Sakura's legs were shaking so badly she could barely stand, Sasuke was winded and seemed to be holding himself up through sheer will power alone, and Naruto was huffing and holding his side. They found a small inlet in a cliff face that was partially hidden.

They had yet to see a soul on the journey since they left the main road, which pleased Kakashi.

"It's quite warm and there is only a very small chance for rain tonight," Kakashi spoke as he sniffed the air. "No need to waste time or energy on the tents." There were a couple sighs of relief as the three unpacked their bedrolls and prepared for the night.

The jônin began to look through the food rations. They were still in the heart of Fire Country and there were no towns for a good fifty miles in any direction. They could risk a fire to actually cook somewhat decent food.

Sakura approaching him with a small bento interrupted his thoughts. "Sensei, my mom wanted to do something for me, for the mission, so she made everyone a meal for tonight."

Kakashi blinked slowly at the food before taking it with a genuine smile. "Thank you Sakura." Not having to cook the first night would allow them to get a good chunk of rest and be fit for the next leg of their journey tomorrow. The three genin sat off a little ways from him talking amongst themselves, while Naruto and Sakura talked, Sasuke just ate, listening to his teammates chatter with one ear.

It was a scene almost familiar but yet not the same. He remembered his own team camping out during missions. Looking at his three students, he couldn't help but compare himself to Minato.

His teacher would have been there with them, chatting, teasing, and sharing stories of his own time as a genin.

But he wasn't Minato. He would never be Minato.

* * *

Team 7 pushed hard and fast through their journey. It was exhausting but the genin were used to such conditions and bore it without complaint. They arrived in the city earlier than expected and Naruto felt all the more happy for it.

Naruto had questioned Sakura on a few more details about the city during their journey. He learned that the city was the central location of export for smaller mining communities located in the surrounding area.

It was thrilling in a city so much bigger than Konoha. Built down river of a waterfall and close to the ocean shore, Takikawa was split into two banks. The river was heavy with boat traffic as they came into the heart of the city from the ocean. The sights and smells of the bustling market place were nearly overwhelming.

The buildings were taller than those in Konohagakure and more tightly packed together. There were men on horses shouting for the pedestrians to clear a path. Carts carrying various goods were pulled down the streets and stopped beside various stands and shops. People shouted their prices from every direction.

It was all bit overwhelming.

Naruto felt like he was being swallowed up by it all as he was jostled from side to side as he followed Sakura, who followed Sasuke, who followed…

The run here burned off all his anger. The betrayal still stung though. He trusted Kakashi-sensei. Even liked the older man. He had thought that Kakashi-sensei had cared somewhat about him.

And the confusing part was now he was sure Kakashi did care.

One of the few things he knew about the jônin was the man did nothing without reason. Every move was planned, every word spoken carefully selected. Naruto knew that Kakashi knew that the album had been in the box. The man wanted Naruto to find out about his parents, but what stung was that Kakashi had waited so long.

Why hadn't he just told him?

A burly man carrying a crate collided with a woman who fell into Naruto. The genin's reflexes kicked in and he caught her easily. "Alright there?"

The blonde smiled at the woman as he righted her. She was probably in her early twenties her. "I'm so sorry for bumping into you like that," she said as she took in her rescuer.

"It wasn't your fault," Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head. She was rather pretty.

"Naruto?" Sakura's voice called through the crowd. His teammate had already been absorbed into the crush of people and Naruto barely caught a glimpse of pink and green through the forest of bodies.

"You sure you're ok? That wasn't a gentle bump."

The woman smiled. "Yes, the fall would have hurt much more." The woman's dark brown eyes took in his hitai-ate and widened in surprise. "You're shinobi?"

"Yep," the affirmed popping the 'P'. He proudly adjusted his hitai-ate proudly.

The brown-eyed woman opened her mouth again, but then Sakura was beside them. "Naruto come on. They're waiting on us."

Naruto flashed a toothy smile at the woman and then followed his teammate through the crowd. They caught up with Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei and continued on.

The ocean of people thinned as they walked further. Naruto could tell they were headed out of town as the buildings came to have more and more space between them and the smell of the city began to dissipate.

They crossed over another smaller bridge that passed over a calmer offshoot of the river. The buildings became older, showing their age not only in their architecture but their condition as well. Paint was peeling, weeds overran many of the gardens, and the walls surrounding the properties were in general disrepair. A few buildings were even beyond hope and only partially standing.

There were a smattering of restaurants and small shops dotted here and there, but Naruto could see they were definitely in a district that had seen better days. Kakashi came to a stop in front of a temple that was in just as poor condition as the buildings surrounding it.

The blonde raised an eyebrow. Kakashi definitely did not strike him as a religious person.

"Well, say hello to your home for the next couple of months," the jônin said, looking expectantly at his students.

Sakura's jaw dropped and Sasuke actually looked worried.

"You're joking," the blonde genin accused.

Their teacher merely raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

Naruto glared at the man for playing with them. "The outpost is a temple?"

"Oh, no," Kakashi chuckled, gesturing across the way to what had been either a large house or a small inn. 'What had been' being key, as in past tense. It was in rough shape. The stone wall that surrounded the property was either overtaken by ivy or crumbling. The grounds were overgrown and in desperate need of taming. Worst of all, roof over a portion of the right wing was collapsed inward. The entire building needed a lot of TLC.

Beside Naruto, Sakura closed her mouth and swallowed. "Some how that is so much worse." Both her teammates nodded solemnly in agreement.

"Right, well, I am going to the city hall to announce our arrival and secure any permits we will need for the reconstruction." The Copy-nin began to head back towards town. "Settle in and have a look around, but don't wander back into the city. I expect to see some headway in the clean up by the time I get back." If the man could feel the three hateful glares that watched him stroll down the street he didn't acknowledge it.

"Sometimes I would really like to hit him," Sakura sighed, sounding almost wistful. Naruto could empathize with that. He was tired, sore and no doubt smelled from the journey and he was sure his teammates felt the same.

"Let's get to it, he's gonna be an ass if he gets back and we haven't accomplished whatever goal he set and failed to mention," Naruto said through his teeth. Sakura let only whimper escape her while Sasuke exhaled loudly.

Together they waded through the overgrown yard, a stone path somewhere underneath their feet. Naruto moved to open the door to the entranceway, but instead of sliding open the door creaked and began to tip towards him.

"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed, back peddling to get out of the way as the door fell to the ground, buoyed by the greenery beneath it.

"Fantastic a bridge!" Sakura bit out sarcastically as she stepped onto the door and into the entrance-way of the outpost. Sasuke followed her in with a look of foreboding on his normally passive face.

Sighing Naruto followed his teammates inside to whatever awaited them.

It wasn't nearly as bad as he expected. Team 7's exploration took little over ten minutes. Under Sakura's direction the team took note of all the things that would need to be addressed other than just a thorough cleaning in each room.

The plumbing in the kitchen and two bathrooms would need to be replaced. The section of roof that was collapsed was over what appeared to be the main sleeping area from the rope bunk beds that were underneath the rubble of the ceiling.

A closet space off the kitchen seemed to house old medical supplies, Sakura made a quick note to go though and see if any of it was salvageable.

The office area of the outpost was in good condition, but under a layer of dust.

Nearly all the windows were damaged in some way or another, either the sills were rotten or the glass was shattered. There was also an assortment of furniture that needed some maintenance in order to bring it back to working condition.

Other than the collapsed roof there was no other structural damage that the genin could find, but Naruto pointed out that none of them knew shit about carpentry and the damn building could collapse at any second for all they knew.

Once their list was compiled Sakura sketched out a to do list based on difficulty of the task.

"How are we supposed to repair a roof?" Naruto cried exasperated.

"Maybe Kakashi-sensei knows something about construction," Sakura said, but she didn't sound as if she actually believed it. Naruto snorted and flinched when Sasuke had the exact same response. The two locked eyes, obviously deeply disturbed they had, had the same reaction. Sakura hid a grin behind her hand. "Well let's sort out a room that we can sleep in for the night and then get started on cleaning out what's unusable."

With their task for the moment clear, Team 7 began to efficiently take care of business. It was strange to be doing something other than training with the others, Naruto thought, but after spending so much time together they fell into a rhythm quickly enough. Without much discussion they all took on roles that best suited each of them while complementing each other.

Their work went undisturbed as they transitioned from clearing out and cleaning a smaller room suited to their current sleeping needs to removing debris. Naruto suggested they use the broken door to press down a portion of the wilderness that was the yard so they could begin piling the garbage into a central location.

As they worked Naruto's thoughts drifted to the man and woman who were his parents, the Fourth Hokage and a beautiful woman named Kushina. The man who was his father had also sealed a demon inside him.

How was he supposed to feel about that?

On one hand it was awesome that he was the son of Fourth. The Fourth had been super strong and from what Naruto knew of him he had been a good leader, a leader who had made the ultimate sacrifice. Naruto just wasn't so sure how he felt about being part of that sacrifice.

But it seemed petty to be angry at a dead man, especially a dead man who was his father, who from all appearances in the pictures seemed so very happy at being a father.

A selfish part of Naruto wanted to scream why him though. Why couldn't the Fourth have chosen another child? But at the same time the genin could understand why the Fourth couldn't ask that of another parent.

The thoughts spun round and round Naruto's head until he couldn't think about it anymore.

A few hours into their clean up effort the sun began to set and Naruto stretched out his back and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Where the hell is Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto complained to Sakura who had just finished dumping a load of rotten wood on the pile of junk. "I'm starving, if I don't eat soon my stomach is going to cave in on itself," he whined.

Naruto was thrown off balance as Sasuke unceremoniously shoved him to the side so he could drop off his own load. "We're all hungry idiot. There's no need to assault our ears and make it worse."

The blonde glared at his teammate and wanted to snap back but was interrupted by Sakura's shrill voice "Yes, we're all tired and hungry and we smell freaking terrible and our pervert of a sensei is probably off perusing the porn section of some bookstore and left us here with all this work!" The two boys watched as Sakura's face turned red in her anger, which Naruto would never say but made for a very unattractive look with her hair. Sakura continued to rant as she stomped back into the house. He only caught a few words but the theme was clear and it involved very sharp kunai and a very sensitive part of the male anatomy.

"We really have to teach her it isn't cool to make threats like that," Naruto mused and Sasuke solemnly nodded alongside him.

"Make threats like what?" A voice from behind them asked.

"Gah!" Naruto cried as he stumbled forward and nearly fell into the pile of wood and shingles and most importantly exposed, rusty nails. Sasuke whirled around kunai in hand. "You!" Naruto spluttered after he had righted himself.

"Me?" his sensei answered as if it were a question. "Maaa, you must be tired. You didn't even sense me arriving. How disappointing. Looks like you need to work harder at that skill and staying always aware of your surroundings," the teacher tutted, bring a finger to his mouth in a thoughtful gesture.

"Work harder?!" Naruto exclaimed, "I'll show you hard work you perverted-"

"Now, now there is need for such slanderous language."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and scoffed. "It's not slander if it's true."

Kakashi could not fault this statement but waved it away. "Now, now I too have been busy."

"Really?" asked a skeptical voice and all three male shinobi turned to look at the only kunoichi on the team. Sakura's face was set in a harsh glower as she met her teacher's single eye. Violent chakra emanated from the girl and both Naruto and Sasuke took a step away from the target.

"Now, now, there is no need for hostility. Look I brought food." From behind his back, Kakashi brought a bag of take out boxes into view. The irate girl stalked forward, grabbed the peace offering and snapped at the rest of the team to follow.

The smell of food that wafted towards Naruto while this transaction happened drove all other complaints from his brain and he quickly chased after his female teammate. Berating their teacher could wait.

* * *

"Why exactly are we here?" Sasuke asked bluntly.

Team 7 had eaten ferociously, decimating all of the food that Kakashi had brought them. Sasuke was sitting cross-legged in-between Naruto who had unrolled his sleeping pad and flopped down onto his side, and Sakura who was rifling through her pack for her bathing goods.

Kakashi who was sitting across from his team, had explained what he had been up to all day while his students worked. The jônin had secured the permits that had been requested by the Hokage's office and been around to several construction contractors. A few that Kakashi had spoken to would be by tomorrow to give their quote on the work that needed to be done. He had also opened accounts for power, water and gas for the building.

The report of his day didn't mollify the three genin completely but there wasn't much they could do to complain. Sakura and Naruto looked outwardly relieved when Kakashi had told them that professionals would be hired for the large fixes the outpost required.

Sasuke was more preoccupied with why they were even here in the first place. He had hypothesized all throughout the journey possible reasons for why Kakashi was so intent on them taking this assignment. In the excitement to leave the village and the mess that awaited them both his teammates seemed to forget that their teacher owed them an explanation.

This time the last Uchiha would not settle for a half-truth or a riddle. If he was going to waste the next few days on cleaning and repairing this wreck he was going to damn well understand why.

For a moment Kakashi gazed at his student. Sasuke could tell the man was carefully deciding how straightforward his answer would be.

"There are several reasons why I cannot be completely transparent in my explanation. You are going to have to accept that." Their teacher's voice had taken on its serious tone that he adopted when he didn't want to be questioned.

Sasuke fought down the flash of anger at this answer, determined to not let it show on his face. Naruto had no such qualms at letting his displeasure be known. The boy scoffed, mumbling something that Sasuke couldn't quite catch and plainly glared at the man.

It was not the first time Sasuke had seen Naruto glare at Kakashi since the mission began. He had watched the blonde stare daggers at Kakashi's back on and off throughout the run to Takikawa. There was something off between the two, but Sasuke had chalked it up to Naruto being emotional.

But, now before his eyes Kakashi reacted in the most surprising way to Naruto's mumbled outburst. The silver haired man's right eye twitched. It was a the tiniest of twitches but it was the second largest involuntary reaction he had seen from his teacher other than the flash of irritation at the Hokage's office.

It was a flinch. As if whatever Naruto had said had actually hurt the stoic man in some way. The idea, that Naruto of all people, could get such a reaction from Kakashi was mind boggling, but Sasuke couldn't see another explanation. It was truly curious.

Something more was going on between the two than he had originally thought. Now, however was not the time to get to the bottom of it.

"What can you tell us sensei?" Sakura asked, not hiding her disappointed sigh.

"There are some high ranking officials in the shinobi council who are a little too curious about this team's progress," Kakashi answered dully as if the whole situation bored him.

Sasuke couldn't help the frown from curving his mouth. Beside him Sakura looked confused, either about why there would be people interested in their team or why this made Kakashi feel it was necessary to leave Konoha Sasuke didn't know. The black haired boy was far more interested in why Naruto seemed to be torn between worry and anger.

Naruto knew something. But what? And why? Surely these officials were interested in Sasuke himself. The reason behind their interest was rather obvious. Why wouldn't they be interested in the last Uchiha? He was the only hope of the sharingan bloodline continuing in Konoha.

But if this was the reason for their interest why was Naruto reacting so strongly?

"Why would they be interested in our team…? Sakura trailed off as she voiced the question, but then glanced toward Sasuke as if he was the answer.

"There are several reason's why this team is of interest. One reason I can explain is the Hokage legacy."

All three genin leaned forward unconsciously at this.

"What legacy?" Naruto asked quickly, with an edge of anxiety in his voice.

Kakashi rubbed his head and sat back leaning into his hads for support. "The Third Hokage was taught by the Second as a genin. A student of the Third taught the Fourth. I am the only surviving student of the Fourth."

This revelation was a bit of a shock to Sasuke and based on the gob smacked look on Sakura's face it was clear that not even she of the Research knew this particular piece of information. Naruto on the other hand…

Sasuke was starting to get irritated with the blonde. He was becoming distractingly interesting. Naruto had known. Sasuke was sure of it. The blonde had shut up about his goal of becoming Hokage in the first week of training as Team 7, but his reaction to the news that their teacher had been taught by a Hokage should have been much, much louder and more annoying.

Naruto had known.

Kakashi continued, "The trend follows that one of you will be the next Hokage." The notion sounded absolutely ridiculous to Sasuke and it was obvious the entire reason was just a smoke screen to cover up something else.

Sakura shook her head in disbelief, "Or you sensei."

The man chuckled, "No one in their right mind would make me Hokage."

The genin of Team 7 certainly agreed with that statement, though none of them voiced it.

"I think that's enough for tonight. We have a long day tomorrow and the bathhouse will close soon. Get your stuff together." With that their teacher picked up his own bag and exited the room.

The three genin sat unmoving for a few moments.

Sakura sighed as she came to her feet. "Well, we got one reason out of him. Even if it was a rather unbelievable one."

"You knew," Sasuke accused. Naruto was turned away from him, reaching for his own pack. Sakura stopped at the doorway and looked back. "You knew that Kakashi was a student of the Fourth." Naruto turned to meet Saskue's gaze before looking down at his empty hands.

"Naruto…?" Sakura questioned.

"I, I knew," Naruto confirmed.

Sakura shuffled her feet and appeared to try and not be irritated by this news. "Why didn't you say anything? The man is still a mystery to all of us."

The blonde looked conflicted. "I didn't know how to explain how I found out, I-" He cut himself off and let out a frustrated breath. "There is a lot you guys don't know about me."

Sasuke glared at the non-answer. He had, had quite enough of those already. "Then tell us," the black haired genin demanded.

Sakura made a choked noise at her teammate's tactless order that was just so Sasuke.

Naruto sneered at the command, "Why the hell should I?"

Sasuke was about to retort, but Sakura stepped forward and kneeled to be on their level. "Because we are a team and…" Sakura hesitated, "We're friends." The final word seemed to strike Naruto dumb.

Friends.

They were friends.

Part of Sasuke revolted at the word, claiming he didn't need friends. Teammates were all that he had planned on letting the other two become. Friends were for people who didn't have a clan to avenge.

Sakura was talking again and her voice interrupted his inner struggle. "I noticed when we were buying clothes that Sato was horrible to you and only you. The teachers at the Academy were completely unprofessional and downright mean to you. Well, other than Iruka-sensei. Most of the kids were mean too." Sakura wrung her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry. When I first started the Academy I was picked on, but Ino stood up for me. Instead of standing up for you I helped the other kids bully you."

"Sakura…" Naruto said softly.

"I have wanted to ask why for a while, but I never did, because I didn't feel like you owed me an explanation, I still don't, but I want to know now. I want to understand because it pisses me off that people treat my friend so poorly." Sasuke couldn't help but nod with what the girl was saying. In the Academy he had ignored the bullying for the most part because it didn't concern him and because… _he_ had told Sasuke not to bully Naruto.

Sasuke remembered that day. Itachi had come like he always did when he was home to pick Sasuke up from the Academy. Naruto was being heckled by some civilian children outside near where Sasuke was and Itachi had very quickly put a stop to it.

While walking home Sasuke asked his brother why the other children were so mean to Naruto. The younger boy had already formed the opinion that the blonde was annoying and loud and an idiot, but didn't quite understand why the other children picked on him so much. Itachi had stopped walking, turned around and kneeled in front of his brother. _"People are ruled by fear. It poisons all their actions. Never let fear control you. That boy does more for this village by simply breathing than most shinobi accomplish in a lifetime. Those children's parents have forgotten that. Do not follow their example."_

As a child Sasuke had simply nodded, not understanding his brother's cryptic words. The words were no longer unintelligible.

But why did the village fear Naruto?

"I'm afraid," Naruto admitted. Sakura's face fell at this admission. "I'm afraid if you know, you won't-," Naruto angrily rubbed at his eyes and Sasuke tried not to show his revulsion at the other boy's tears. "You won't want to be anywhere near me once you know."

"Idiot." That stopped the blonde's eyes from leaking as he glared at Sasuke. "We haven't put up with your presence 24/7 for a month just to turn on you. I didn't give up on your weak, worthless ass in the beginning. Don't insult me by thinking I will now that you are finally a decent teammate."

Naruto's mouth fell open and Sakura was stunned for a moment before she chuckled and added, "Yeah, we're not some random people. We're teammates, friends and together we have so-far survived the nightmare that is Hatake Kakashi."

Their blonde friend stared at them both swallowing and setting his chin. "Ok, I don't know everything but here goes." Sasuke and Sakura watched as he twisted to grab his pack and pulled a small photo album out and flipped through the pages before showing them.

"This is Kakashi-sensei's genin team." The other two genin leaned forward to look at the picture of Kakashi with two other genin and a jônin they both quickly recognized as the Fourth Hokage. Sasuke noticed that the other boy in the picture was definitely an Uchiha though he didn't recognize him. The boy who had given Kakashi his sharingan eye had a dopey smile on his face that was certainly out of place on an Uchiha.

Naruto flipped through a couple more pictures of the team before he got to a picture of the Fourth and a red haired woman. The blonde man had his arm thrown around the woman and their proximity in the photo obviously showed that they were a couple.

"How did you get this album Naruto?" Sakura asked as she took in the photograph.

"It was in a box of fûinjutsu scrolls that Kakashi gave me the night before we left Konoha," the blonde explained as he turned the book around to flip to another picture of the Fourth and the red haired woman who was now pregnant.

"Why did he give it-?" the pink haired girl questioned before she snatched the book from Naruto to get a closer look at the picture. "Holy shit!" she exclaimed.

It was surprising Sasuke thought. He had never heard of the Fourth having a family but he wasn't sure why Sakura was so excited.

Naruto took back the book and flipped to the end, removing the last picture before presenting it to them. Sasuke didn't see the point of this as he took in the subject of the last photo.

It was the red haired woman again. She had Kakashi's hand pressed to her stomach forcefully and their teacher looked remarkably uncomfortable. Naruto turned the photo over and everything started to make sense.

Sasuke wanted to hit himself for not recognizing the resemblance. The other boy was the spitting image of the Fourth but it didn't click until the connection was glaring right there in front of his dark eyes.

"Naruto…" Sakura whispered in awe.

"Yeah, was a bit of a shock for me."

"Why, why the hell doesn't anybody know this?!" Sakura nearly yelled.

Naruto took a breath before beginning to shock his two teammates even further. "Because things are even more complicated than me being the son of a village hero. You see we were lied to our entire lives about the Fourth. They told us that he killed the Kyûbi. He didn't."

Sakura looked like she wanted to object to what Naruto was saying but stopped short, no doubt coming to the same conclusion as Sasuke. The Fourth's wife and child had been kept secret, a pretty big deal and highly irregular as the families of past Hokage's were treated with great respect in the village.

"Then what happened to the Fox?" Sakura asked.

Naruto looked at them both anxiously before answering. "He sealed it. He sealed it inside of me.

"_People are ruled by fear."_

"_It poisons all their actions." _

"_That boy does more for this village by simply breathing than most shinobi accomplish in a lifetime."_

For the first time since he was six years old Sasuke found himself in agreement with his brother.

* * *

Kakashi sat outside the room leaning against the wall and covered by an illusion.

Three down.

Sakura had found her motivation. Sasuke had accepted his teammates. And now Naruto had chosen to trust.

A small smile was hidden behind the ever-present mask.

There was still work to be done, but it was a damn fine start.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the wait on this chapter. Life happened and I ended up in the hospital and had to have surgery.

Ok I have a secret to tell. I haven't read all of Naruto, like not even close to all of it. Therefore a lot of what I write may be AU. I don't actually know if Kakashi was aware of the reasons behind the Uchiha massacre. Mine doesn't. I don't really know how close Kakashi was to Itachi but I love non-massacre stories that feature them having a pretty tight relationship. In this story they had more of a working relationship but Kakashi did care about Itachi as he was a team member of his at one point.

My point is I'm not going to follow canon to the letter, it was never my intention to give that impression, but neither am I going to ignore it completely. I might make changes through ignorance or just because I really didn't like the direction canon went with certain characters or events.

This includes rules and laws about chakra and jutsu. I do my utmost to read everything I can on the theory behind a lot of jutsu and why it works the way it does, but I find a lot of the explanation offered by canon is lacking. Therefore I make up my own.

**Kleio96**: Ok you are not hacking my computer. I was suspicious. This Kakashi is extremely calculating, especially when it comes to his team. He does almost nothing regarding them without purpose. Which also makes him distant because he doesn't allow himself to relax around them. Giving Naruto the album was a way to tell Naruto passively about his parents, because Kakashi just isn't good with his words. If I was a better and more patient writer I would have let Naruto look through the album but not turn over the picture and maybe finally discover it a month later. I am not patient and my writing isn't that great so immediate gratification is always good.

**Enbi**: I am glad you are liking where I am going with Sasuke's and Sakura's characters so far. Hopefully I did justice to Naruto in this chapter but I don't think I will ever nail him completely.

**Ann**: Edited. I found them. So turns out I didn't read far enough into the manga... Sorry! I wanted her to be a civilian so even if I had known about them I might have changed it. They won't play a huge role past a certain point so I hope it doesn't stop you from reading!

**XJackiefrostX**: I feel your pain.

A big thanks to everyone who reviewed. This isn't the chapter you deserve and I'm sorry. My unavoidable break from this fic kind of threw me off. Your reviews really helped cheer me up during my stay in the hospital so thank you so much for that.

Please let me know what you think of this chapter! Also I promise the next update will come faster than a month!

I watched the shit out of the Lord of the Rings movies while I was in the hospital cause those are my sick movies. I couldn't help but imagine my Team 7 in that world and actually wrote a bit on a whim. Made me think how you never see kid versions of Team 7 in an lotr crossover. Or at least I couldn't find one really. If you know of one please share!


	5. Chapter 5 Down the Bloody Rabbit Hole

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 5: Down the Bloody Rabbit Hole

* * *

Naruto was floating. His surroundings were completely at peace. The sun beat down on his exposed limbs and torso, and his skin soaked up the warmth it offered. He felt his conscious turn inward his breath becoming slower. The slight ripple of wind brushing the soft hairs on his stomach and legs was the only warning he got before his world shattered.

Water splashed across the blonde's face and his body rocked. Jerking out of his trance Naruto slipped below the surface of the lake he had been floating in. After coming up for air, he saw a spluttering Sakura treading water some feet away from him. "Damn it Sakura! I was almost there!" he yelled, hitting the water with a fist.

The guilty party threw a green-eyed glare over her shoulder. "Don't blame me. Sasuke didn't have to throw me in the lake."Naruto looked towards an unrepentant Sasuke who was standing by the shore. Sighing in frustration, the blonde began to swim, following his friend back to shore.

After telling his teammates about his parents and the Fox they had all agreed that Naruto should try to learn as much as possible about the seal that kept the monster imprisoned. So the three had gone to the only source they could think of, Kakashi. Naruto had not wanted to ask his teacher for help, but there wasn't really a choice.

Though his teammates, well Sakura really, understood his frustration with Kakashi, Sasuke told him blankly to get over it. As one would expect the last Uchiha's words had not gone over well. After some yelling and a bit of a scuffle, Naruto saw that Sasuke was right. And, Naruto was over 'it,' if that meant he had set his anger aside for the moment in order to move forward.

So to Kakashi they went and for once their teacher yielded some very interesting information. The seal that the Fourth, his dad he reminded himself, had chosen used both Naruto's and the Fox's own chakra to keep it powered. This meant that there was a path between the two and Naruto could in theory access the Kyûbi's chakra.

That had been a little less than a week ago. Naruto had spent every spare moment since trying to draw out this foreign chakra. He had thought Kakashi was insane when he suggested it. The jônin explained that there was a very real chance that bleed through might occur naturally, was already occurring naturally even if Naruto didn't realize it. If Naruto were to become extremely stressed or highly emotional the Fox's chakra could react violently, especially since his chakra system was almost fully mature now. Kakashi made the case that Naruto needed to learn how to control the unnatural chakra in a calm environment, as even the Copy Nin couldn't say how Naruto would react to having the Fox's chakra running through him.

Naruto had looked towards Sasuke and Sakura to gauge what they thought. The bastard had on his usual boring face, but Naruto saw that his shoulders were tense. Sakura looked openly nervous, but then said something that shocked him. "Are you sure it won't hurt Naruto?" Sasuke had nodded in agreement to this question.

After learning about the Fox, Naruto finally had an answer to the question he had carried all his life, why everyone seemed to hate him. But having the answer created so many more questions and problems. Like how could he ever tell anyone and how could he ever not? Were the villagers right? Was he dangerous? Was he an explosion tag just waiting to be activated?

But now, here he was. He had two people who didn't run screaming or call him a monster or change their attitude in the slightest once they knew the truth. Sakura would still cuff him for language, which Naruto found to be completely hypocritical as the girl could swear with the best of them and Sasuke still hit harder than was necessary when they sparred. They certainly weren't treating him like he would explode with fur and fangs any time soon.

And they proved just how much they trusted him again by being more concerned with his well-being than what could possibly happen to them if they were in the vicinity and something were to go wrong. Naruto didn't quite know how to express his feelings of gratitude so he didn't. Sasuke would not appreciate any of that anyway.

So, despite his own worry about possibly hurting one of his teammate's Naruto had been trying his hardest to access the Kyûbi's chakra. All the worry was for naught though, because so far it was a complete bust.

The soaking wet blonde flopped down on the soft grass next to Sakura who had taken off her shirt to wring it out. A month ago he would have gone pink at the sight but Kakashi's training didn't afford such modesty. They were all taping up each other's cuts, splinting sprained fingers, wrists and ankles, wrapping up bruised ribs and smearing liberal amounts of bruise and burn creams everywhere.

The lack of body shyness was also helped by the realization that he no longer had a crush on Sakura. The girl had made it very clear that his crush wasn't reciprocated and Naruto had let it go. The blonde over shared though when he told Sakura part of the reason he wanted to be her boyfriend was that he wanted to win her affection from Sasuke. The sparring match Sakura had suggested after his comment had been vicious. Sakura won.

"You weren't any closer today than you were yesterday, don't lie," Sasuke said blandly, coming to sit beside them. Naruto made a rude hand gesture in response and lay back with a huff. It was true. He wasn't getting any closer. Meditation was not working.

"Maybe you should take a break from it for a while. You've been trying nearly non-stop for days now," Sakura suggested slipping her shirt back on. Naruto hummed in acknowledgement and tried not to let his failure sting.

All three genin tensed when they felt a particular chakra signature approach the area they claimed as their training ground. From the western tree line the demon padded toward them. When it had approached, it sat back on its haunches and raised a paw in greeting. "Yo."

None of them had forgotten the hell the damn pug put them through. "Pakkun," Sakura greeted through her teeth.

"Kakashi wants you back at the outpost, but no need to rush. Your mission support has arrived." The three genin stood. "Mind giving me a lift back? My right paw is kinda sore, got into a bit of a tussle with this dumb Akita."

The three shared expressive looks with each other before turning away from the ninken and after a furious game of Rock Paper Scissors the defeated Sakura scooped up the pug.

"So is it anyone we know?" Naruto questioned as they headed back in the direction of town.

"Mmmm probably not but he knows you at least," the pug answered. "Name is Namiashi Raidô, special jônin. He is part of the Hokage Elite Guard-"

"Oh shit!" Naruto cursed coming to an abrupt halt. "Which one is he, the one with the bandana, the goatee or the scar?

"Scar, you know him?" the pug asked.

Sakura and Sasuke both looked on curiously as Naruto began to sweat. "Yeah, shit balls! Well I guess it could be worse, goatee was an ass. Scarface just usually glared and looked disappointed."

"How do you know him?" Sakura inquired.

"I used to hang around the Hokage tower a lot when I was a kid. When I would get in trouble at the orphanage they would send me there sometimes. The Third looked out for me. Guess we know why now. His guard was always around. I don't remember their names but the one with the bandana, he was cool. Used to laugh at the pranks I pulled. The other two though not so much," Naruto finished with a sheepish look.

Sakura rolled her eyes and gave him a look that clearly said no shit. "Most of us didn't find your pranks amusing."

"Hey I totally remember you laughing when I pulled a classic fart gag on that old guy who used to teach us calligraphy!" Naruto accused.

"You did laugh at that," Sasuke said in support of the blonde.

Sakura gaped at her ex-crush. "I can't believe you even remember something like that! Okay, so I laughed. That old man was mean. He used whack us with a switch if we didn't have correct posture."

"He was a cranky old bastard and I should have picked something a little more memorable," Naruto said darkly. He had suffered a majority of the blows dealt and had absolutely loathed the old calligraphy teacher. "So Kakashi-sensei knows this guy too?" Naruto asked the pug before he began walking again.

"Yeah the three elite guards first served the Fourth so Kakashi knows them all. Since they were bodyguards for the Fourth Hokage, all three know you're the Fourth's kid. Boss doesn't really care for this one though. Thinks he has a stick shoved up his ass."

"Great," Naruto sighed. It was going to be a constant problem. Every Leaf shinobi he met now, he would wonder, did they know?

"If he is a bodyguard why is he here as our mission support? We don't need a bodyguard we need someone to run the outpost," Sakura spoke.

The furry ball in her arms flipped onto his back and looked up at his benefactor. "You are the smarter one pinkie. Namiashi, from what I remember is a stickler for rules and follows orders to the letter and also trusted by the Third. He no doubt is here to keep an eye you Naruto or that's what Boss is thinking."

"Why? Isn't Kakashi-sensei enough? Is this how it's going to be? My own village keeping an eye on me for the rest of my life?" Naruto grumbled, trying not to be stung by what he considered a complete lack of trust. He understood how the Fox was dangerous, but it had been inside him for twelve years now and so far nothing had happened. Sakura shot him a pitying look that he tried to ignore. "I just want to be a shinobi. Not deal with all of this political bull crap."

The team fell into silence only interrupted by Sakura's noise of disgust as Pakkun began to clean himself in her arms.

Sasuke abruptly came to a halt as they entered the outskirts of Takikawa.

"You used to spout off your dream of becoming Hokage to anyone who would listen," he stated blankly.

The blonde genin frowned at his teammate. "Yeah…" he trailed off not sure what Sasuke was on about. It was a rather random thing to say.

Sakura nodded her head and added, "He's right. Didn't you think about the political aspect of the job at all?"

"No," Sasuke said, looking at Sakura. "You were an annoying fan girl."

"Hey!" Sakura dropped Pakkun who easily landed on his feet.

Naruto was confused at Sasuke's sudden need to reflect on the past, and Sakura looked ready to punch the black haired boy.

"I said were," Sasuke added with an eye roll before continuing, "If we are going to be spied on we should control the information that is reported."

The pink haired girl made a noise of comprehension. "Disinformation, the purposeful spreading of false or inaccurate information," Sakura exclaimed with twinkling eyes.

Naruto quickly recalled the term from one of Kakashi's lectures on subterfuge. "But what does that have to do with me wanting to be Hokage and Sakura being a fan girl."

"Can we please stop mentioning that?" Sakura asked with sigh and a blush of shame creeping into her cheeks.

"Kakashi uses his apathy and disinterest as a mask. He purposefully misleads people," Sasuke stated. "This would not only be useful in battle but also within Konoha."

"He used it when we were at the Hokage tower!" Naruto excitedly pointed out snapping his fingers at the memory. Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"So you're saying we should use our old behavior to trick Namiashi Raidô into reporting that we have made little to no progress as genin?" Sakura asked not looking or sounding convinced that this a great plan.

"Come on Sakura!" Naruto whined. "Think about how awesome it would be if we come back at the end of this mission super strong and everyone thinks that we're the same as we were back in the Academy! Imagine the looks on their faces!" Naruto crowed, already picturing all the teachers who said he was beyond hope.

"That isn't," Sasuke began but then shook his head mumbling under his breath, "idiot."

Naruto was too busy fantasizing about his triumphant return to notice.

Sakura still looked unsure of the entire plan but it seemed it was two against one.

"Ok," she relented. "But if we're going to do this we're going to have to sell it."

Pakkun, who had been quiet the entire time listened to the genin make their plan. The pug was sure this wasn't the brightest idea, but it would be entertaining to see his boss's face as the kids regressed before his eyes.

* * *

Kakashi wasn't sure if he should be frustrated at the fact that Namiashi Raidô was currently invading the outpost that he had come to consider an oasis of sorts. He had forgotten how great living outside Konoha could be. No, harassing summons for errant mission reports, no nagging to go to the hospital for tiny scratches that really just needed a Band-Aid, or a bit of mud, and no lectures from the Hokage on how he had yet to take a genin team despite his ten plus years of being a jônin…etc…etc.

Plenty of time to just kick back in a tree, read some quality fiction and yell encouragement to his minions as they worked feverishly. He had promised them ninjutsu if they completed all the repairs to the outpost in under four days.

The carpenters and other subcontractors had come in on the second day and with the help of his team completed the largest of the repairs in a little less than three days. The foreman of the crew had remarked how he was glad that shinobi didn't pick up the construction trade or he would be quickly out of business. Kakashi had smirked and told the man his students just had the right motivation.

And now here was an interloper, not just any interloper, but one who history had proven to be particularly judgmental. Joy.

It was really quite crafty of the Third to send someone like Namiashi. As most bodyguards were, the man was fiercely loyal to the Hokage office and only that office. He would not be sharing any information with anyone other than the Hokage. But messages could always be intercepted, the silver haired jônin's paranoid mind thought.

Still, Kakashi didn't care for the man. When Minato had been Hokage Namiashi had been a prick for protocol. Idly he wondered if the other shinobi was being punished for something. As well as being an excellent bodyguard, Namiashi was a top-notch assassin. It was an odd move to put him here in the place of a trusted administrative chûnin.

Kakashi didn't envy him the position that was for sure. The special jônin would be in charge of receiving mission requests from the area, doing any risk assessment for local missions and pass on those that needed further analysis, and assigning any shinobi that were in residence on missions.

So much paperwork.

They were currently standing in the office space. It had been Naruto's job to organize and stock the room and much to Kakashi's surprise he had done a very meticulous job. His early years of hanging around the Hokage tower had obviously taught him a thing or two.

"Why aren't you guarding the Hokage exactly?" Kakashi questioned lightly.

The older man rolled his left shoulder. "I was injured on a short term mission in Wind country. Genma was recalled to service to take my place. I will be here until I am fully healed."

Kakashi hummed his acceptance at the curtly given answer. The Hokage Elite Guard had been made up of the same members since the Fourth had fallen. Given the peace that had reigned undisrupted for some time the Third had decided in the last three years that he only needed two active bodyguards. Of course for special occasions all three would be called to service.

"So, where is your team?" the currently inactive bodyguard asked.

The silver haired jônin shrugged. "Off being young-adults somewhere. I sent one of my dogs to track them down." That got nearly no reaction from the man, which slightly disappointed Kakashi. He was curious to see what Namiashi would make of his team.

As if on cue, Kakashi felt two of his students barreling towards the outpost and one of them was leaking a bit of killing intent. Inwardly he frowned wondering what Naruto had done to piss Sakura off badly enough that the girl wasn't controlling her chakra.

He didn't have long to wait to find out.

A very damp Naruto arrived like a hurricane, slamming the door open and careening into the office, carelessly knocking over a chair on his way to his teacher.

"Saaaaave me from the she-demon!" he cried running to be behind Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't have time to react before a pissed off Sakura with dripping wet hair marched through the door. "He doesn't deserve saving sensei!" she yelled. "Come here Naruto!"

"I said I was sorry!"

"Senseeiiiiiii!" The pitch of her whine and the drawn out vowel set his teeth on edge. What the hell had happened? Sakura pointed an accusing finger at the cowering blonde. "He purposefully threw me into the lake. He knows I can't swim well!"

"I didn't do it on purpose! And I went in to get you, unlike your precious Sasuke-bastard who just watched," Naruto shot back. Said bastard had entered the building and was standing in the hall not entering the office and looked absolutely disgusted.

"Don't call Sasuke-kun names you dummy!"

Wait, Kakashi had had this nightmare before. He bit his cheek. Nope, not dreaming. Maybe it was a genjutsu…Sakura and Sasuke had both taken to the art like ducks to water, but neither of them were capable of something so intricate.

"I am not a dummy!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!

"You're both idiots," Sasuke deadpanned from his place in the doorway.

Sakura gasped and flushed with hurt. "You don't mean that Sasuke-kun." The girl turned back to Naruto. "This is all your fault."

Kakashi glanced toward the other adult in the room and he suddenly understood. The man's right eye was twitching and his mouth slightly agape. Horror, he astutely diagnosed. This over the top performance may become too much though the longer Namiashi was exposed to it. Deciding this was a teachable moment Kakashi thought it would be better to cut them off. "Sakura, Naruto go dry off," he ordered sounding exasperated and defeated.

Sakura jerked her head up to look at him, "Aren't you going to do anything? He-"

"Go now."

Sakura huffed and threw a scathing glare at her teammate before departing through the doorway Sasuke had already vacated. Naruto sulkily followed her, swearing under his breath.

Kakashi let out a sigh before turning his head to the stunned shinobi. "I forgot to say it earlier. Welcome. I look forward to working with you."

With that Kakashi followed his team, meeting Pakkun in the hallway. The pug had a paw over his snout and looked to be trying to contain his amusement. Without a word to his longtime partner Kakashi made his way to the bunkroom.

When he entered, Sakura was in her bunk above Sasuke, changing into dry clothes. Naruto was sitting on the floor with a grin on his face, excitedly describing the flummoxed look on Kakashi's face to Sasuke who was smirking in amusement.

Kakashi slid the door shut pulling his genin's attention.

"We totally had you sensei!" Naruto bragged.

Coming to sit on the frame of his bed Kakashi conceded with a nod. "You did have me going there for a second. If you pushed that performance any harder though it may have become obvious." Pakkun leapt up and made himself comfortable on Kakashi's pillow and ignored the glare the jônin sent him in response.

"Nah it was brilliant, though Sasuke was just regular old Sasuke," the blonde commented.

The black haired genin snorted. "Yeah, because I wasn't completely insufferable like you two in the beginning."

"Hey!" Naruto cried.

From above Kakashi caught a very real flash of hurt from Sakura who blushed when she noticed her teacher had seen. "Don't let the act become reality," Kakashi warned. "You were all insufferable in the beginning and still are sometimes." All three shot him unhappy looks but Kakashi ignored them. "So what was this all about?"

Naruto and Sakura both looked at Sasuke, who just shrugged in response. Rolling her eyes Sakura took it upon herself to explain. "Well, Pakkun told us that this shinobi is here to most likely spy on our team. We decided to practice our skills and see if we could get him to make a report that was for the most part false."

Kakashi hummed at the idea. "So you are prepared to keep this little act up until we leave here?" he asked. The alarmed looks he got in response told him they didn't think that far ahead. Sasuke looked especially uncomfortable at the idea. "Remember when on mission you have to fully commit to an act if it is required, so pick one you can maintain. You cannot fall in and out of character. Lucky for you the only person Namiashi is going to report to is the Hokage, you really don't need to worry about him."

"Old man's keeping an eye on me huh," Naruto said with a grimace.

Kakashi had told them that Naruto was the main reason for the close watch the team was getting. It was much simpler and safer than explaining the interest surrounding Sasuke. The team seemed to swallow the explanation. "He always has and he would be a fool not to." Kakashi raised a hand to stop the coming tirade. "Like it or not the reality is that you house a very dangerous entity that slaughtered hundreds of our village. The Third is taking precautions not only to protect others, but also to protect you Naruto."

The blonde deflated and moodily climbed up the bunk to his bed above Kakashi. Clearly he no longer wished to talk about it. "Now, whose turn is it to cook tonight?"

"It's yours sensei," Sakura answered with a somewhat malicious smile.

Kakashi frowned dramatically. "That can't be right. I believe it is Sasuke's turn to cook. I have jônin things to take care of." Black eyes burned into his back as he left the three genin and made his way back to the office where Namiashi was settling in.

The slightly older shinobi looked up from the desk that he had claimed. Seeing Kakashi he reached into his pack and pulled out a scroll, holding it out to the jônin. Kakashi took it. "You're to return to Konoha within the next five days to receive mission orders."

Kakashi frowned and cracked the seal on the scroll. "The plan was for my team to stay in the area for the next two months."

"The orders are for just you."

Kakashi's silver head jerked up to meet the other man's unflinching brown gaze with a hard stare. He quickly read through the contents of the scroll. He was being recalled for a follow-up mission. The original mission was an initial meeting and recruitment of an informant in Lightning. Apparently that contact had sent word that he had information and was requesting a face-to-face meeting.

It seemed like a coincidence, but Kakashi couldn't help but feel Danzo or one of the Hokage's advisors had a hand in this. Any other jônin could take this mission, it didn't have to be him. Sure, informants usually liked to report to the same person, but that wasn't always a possibility.

Well played Danzo, Kakashi thought. He had walked his team right into a corner. In the village Kakashi could always keep a watchful eye out for someone a little too interested in his team or have people he trusted to look out for them if he was away, but out here with Kakashi gone, his team was cut off. The leader of Root could send a team full of his people to observe Team 7 and Kakashi couldn't do a damn thing.

Kakashi could only hope the man's goal was just to observe.

"I will keep an eye out for them per Hokage-sama's orders."

The declaration pulled Kakashi out of his angry fog. It appeared the Third hadn't missed a beat. The silver haired jônin blew out a sigh as he came to see the full picture of why the Hokage had thought it necessary to send a member of his own personal guard. He had initially assumed it was because of his own resistance in reporting much of anything about Naruto. Kakashi realized he had grown quite protective of the blonde in a very short time.

Team 7 needed an ally. "Thank you," he said, his voice genuine in tone for once. "Have dinner with us tonight. Sasuke is cooking. The boy is surprisingly domestic. Naruto can't do much more than boil water and Sakura seems to not understand the concept of seasoning." The brown haired man froze for a moment. Kakashi could almost see the war that was going on behind the man's eyes. The silver haired shinobi grinned behind his mask. "They really aren't as bad as they seem."

* * *

After an uneventful dinner in which their new housemate looked slightly terrified the young shinobi would erupt violently into an argument at any moment, Team 7 retired to the bunkroom and Kakashi broke the news he would be leaving in two days. This was met with concern and whining, "You still haven't taught us ninjutsu!"

"Namiashi will look out for you. In fact he was probably sent here in case this particular circumstance arose," Kakashi reassured. "But do be careful around any Leaf shinobi you don't know."

"Why do we have to be careful around people who should be on our side?" Naruto groused.

Kakashi sighed. "I know it doesn't seem right but keeping peace in a village is a lot more difficult than they make it seem in the history books you read in the Academy. There are many who don't agree with how the Third leads and part of that relates to you Naruto."

The jônin struggled as he looked at the three naïve faces. Even with the injustice that Naruto already suffered he still believed that the enemies were always outside the village gates. Sasuke, who had experienced the loss of his entire family at the hands of someone as close as his brother, was blind to the plans of those who would use him for their own gain. Sakura was the most likely to question an unknown shinobi. As a civilian child she had been taught to fear shinobi and to be wary of even ones of her own village. But, she had also been trained to obey authority and would have a hard time disregarding an order from a superior.

"Konohagakure is your home. You owe the Hokage your fealty. But, there are those in our village who do not agree with its current path, those who see the future of our village in a radically different light. Those, who most certainly mean you harm Naruto or those who would use you Sasuke for your bloodline. And even those who don't believe civilian children like you Sakura should ever have the chance to become shinobi."

The silence that followed Kakashi's speech was heavy. "The Third is old. What would happen if he died without naming an heir? What if one of those people became Hokage? What if the first thing they did was order Naruto's execution?" Sakura sucked in a harsh breath. "Would you stand against the Hokage, against your friends, against Konoha itself?"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto's blue eyes were aflame. "My dad died for Konoha. I'd die before I see everything he stood for be violated by some asshole, especially if that asshole comes after me."

The thought of Naruto dying caused cold fear to fill Kakashi's chest and the man had to take a breath to clear it. The jônin could see Kushina shining through her son at the fierce declaration. It was something she would say.

Sakura and Sasuke were quiet and Naruto's exuberance diminished at their silence.

"And you two?" Kakashi asked.

The sole female genin of Team 7 shook her pink head. "I don't want to believe any of that could ever happen, but if it did… I could never stand by and watch Naruto fight alone." Beside her Naruto beamed.

"Sasuke," Kakashi pushed, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

The black haired boy shifted before replying. "The Uchiha used to keep order in Konoha. We were its police force." Sasuke looked to Naruto. "I would fight with you. I do not want to restore my clan in a Konoha that turns on its own people."

It was a moment of solidarity that Kakashi hadn't been expecting from the reserved youth. "And I would be right there with the three of you," Kakashi added, because there was no way any of his team was going to die while he still drew breath. "Now I think it is about time we all turn in you three slouched on training today because of our new arrival. I think an extra hour of conditioning will make up for it." The serious air was broken by the groans of his students but they did as they were bid.

An hour or two later, right before Kakashi felt himself drift off Naruto spoke. "Kakashi-sensei can you tell me about them?" Not speaking for a moment the jônin deliberated on his response. "I know you're awake sensei," Naruto said, obviously believing his teacher's silence was avoidance.

"What do you want to know," Kakashi asked in reply.

Naruto sighed, "Everything, but start with who they were. I guess I know a bit about my dad already, we had to read about him, but what about my mom?"

"Your mother's full name was Uzumaki Kushina. She was everything a kunoichi isn't supposed to be, and was an amazing one at the same time." Talking about Kushina always brought a smile to his face and now was no different. "She was fearless on the battlefield, but she wanted a peaceful life. She taught your dad a thing or two about fûinjutsu. She was hotheaded, incapable of being subtle and quick to trust. You did not inherit her cooking skills, because her food was excellent. She was always down for a laugh and a good time." Kakashi pictured Kushina when she was pregnant. "She was cheerful and always had a smile on, but she had one that was reserved just for you. She would talk to you often." He paused before adding. "Kushina loved deeper than anyone I have ever known."

There was a moment of silence. "I wish I could have met her," he said, voice cracking as he spoke.

Kakashi said nothing in response. There was nothing to say.

* * *

Sakura's feet barely brushed the dirt below the wooden landing she sat on. Her legs swung idly in tandem, the pink haired girl not caring as her bare toes scraped at the earth. It was near three o'clock in the morning, the usual time Naruto and Sasuke returned from their bouncer duty at a bar in the city. Her mind was focused on the unopened letter in her hands though instead of her tardy teammates. It was a letter from home.

Home. She wasn't sure where home was anymore.

It had already been two weeks since Team 7's arrival in Takikawa and nearly a week since Kakashi had left them. Sakura was amazed to find she quickly missed her teacher's presence. The twelve year old had yet to feel the same way about her parents.

She did however miss the luxuries home provided. Living at the outpost made Sakura realize how she had taken both her parents, but especially her mother for granted. Here Team 7 had to do everything for themselves and Sakura was smacked in the face by the reality that she was rather spoiled in comparison to her teammates.

Growing up, like many other children Sakura had done chores around the house to help out. She set the table, washed dishes after dinner, and vacuumed and cleaned up her own room on the weekends, and helped her mother mend and alter clothing.

The green eyed girl had not however, ever done laundry by herself, cooked a full meal without her mother, or made a weekly budget, which had been her father's job.

Both Sasuke and Naruto had.

Though, Sakura and Naruto had said they would gladly pick up Sasuke's other chores if he agreed to cook, because he was by far more gifted in the kitchen than anyone else on the team. Well, they didn't know about Kakashi because the man always weaseled out of kitchen duty. Sasuke said no to this proposition, much to his friends' disappointment. His reason being the other two would never learn if they didn't practice. Naruto had whispered to Sakura after the other boy left, "This is proof! He is a masochist. He has to eat the crap that we make." Sakura felt Naruto was on to something.

The soon to be thirteen year old was happy to find that she at least beat Naruto in the cooking department, but any pride she received from the small triumph was obliterated when Naruto practically had to hold her hand when it came time to go to the laundry mat. The blonde had patiently guided Sakura through everything.

Cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, budgeting, all the things Sakura had never really paid much attention to thanks to her having the privilege of parents.

She was privileged for having parents. She was lucky to even know their names. The thought was on cycle in her head going round and round. She couldn't imagine not knowing something so basic. Being the daughter of Tatsuki and Chiho Haruno was part of who she was.

But, now Naruto had solved that piece of his identity. He was the son of the Fourth Hokage. It was like one of the books Sakura had read as a child where a girl, living in a horrible situation and comes to find out she is really a long lost princess who is swept off to live happily ever after in a castle with a prince. Naruto should have been treated like royalty by the village. Shinobi and civilians alike revered the Fourth. Sakura had been raised on bedtime stories, mostly fictitious ones about the man.

Well, now she knew even the story of him slaying the Kyûbi was definitely false. Instead the man had sealed it inside his newborn son. The tragedy of it all was heart wrenching and seemed more plausible as the plot of some movie than real life. But, Sakura was beginning to see that real life was more tragic than any fiction could ever be. Naruto was the son of the man who saved the entire village and was hated for something he had zero control or choice in. Life was no fairytale.

The female genin had never felt guiltier for treating Naruto so poorly in the past. She had been mean to him because everyone was and she foolishly believed that the reason behind his poor treatment was the pranks he pulled and the chaos he caused. But, once she began to get to know her teammate and see instances of uncalled for mistreatment, her brain finally decided to start working.

How could anyone think that the always smiling and laughing blonde, a child, was a monster?

Any fear she had felt in the wake of being told about the Fox and that Naruto could potentially use its power was doused when she caught Naruto looking at the photo album of his parents when he thought no one was watching. His face was the picture of contentment. He would never hug either of his parents. He would never hear them say I love you. All he had was a photo album. And he was happy.

Tears for her friend leaked down the sides of her face. She rubbed angrily at them. Shinobi weren't supposed to cry.

That was how Namiashi found her.

"Haruno-san, please remind Uzumaki-san when he returns that he owes me a rewritten report on the bathhouse peeping-tom mission you-" The man froze mid-sentence when he finally looked up from the papers he had been shuffling through and saw the girl was crying.

If Sakura wasn't beginning to burn with righteous anger, she would have laughed at how the uptight shinobi's face went from blank to acutely uncomfortable in barely a second. Tears tended to do that to those lacking social skills.

"I-" he began, but Sakura had, had enough and anger always made her bold.

Since Kakashi had left, Namiashi had been sending them out on missions, nothing big, just D-ranks around the village. The first couple days he came with to observe them. At the end of the day he would critique them on their performance. Though he usually said something negative about all of them, the majority of the critique would be nit-picking Naruto.

Team 7 also had to fill out their own mission reports and turn them in. The elite bodyguard was always harder on Naruto. At first they thought the man was just being strict as both Sakura and Sasuke's reports were covered in red ink too. Naruto though, was nearly always asked to rewrite portions if not all of his report and given a bullshit (in Sakura's opinon) excuse as to why it was necessary.

Sakura had suggested after the third time Naruto was asked to rewrite a report that they talk to the special jônin about it, but Naruto had just shrugged, admitting to a past prank on the man that he wouldn't go into detail about because apparently it had been pretty embarrassing. The blonde said he could understand the man's grudge.

Sakura didn't. The man was using his position of authority to bully her friend and she was going to do something about it.

"His report was fine, I checked it before he handed it in. Explain why he needs to redo it," she demanded, trying to keep her voice as level and as confident as possible. After more than a month of trying to decipher Kakashi-sensei's emotions with that damn mask on his face, the flash of anger that crossed Namiashi's at her audacity was clear as day.

"You should not be writing Naruto's reports for him," the brown haired man reprimanded.

"I didn't say I wrote it for him, I said I checked it," she countered. "And if I had written it, it would have been as flawless as my own report was for that mission. You, yourself said so." A hint of heat rose in the veteran shinobi's cheeks, he was no longer hiding his anger, but Sakura was pissed and she sure as hell wasn't backing down. "We know you and Naruto have some history. We know he pranked you and that it was one of his worse ones. I think Naruto should apologize for it, but your behavior hasn't been any better."

"Whatever Uzumaki did in the past has no relation to-"

"Stop lying. It insults me," Sakura said with a sneer that would make Sasuke proud. Pocketing the unopened letter she stood to fully face the irritated shinobi. "I get it. Naruto was a right brat to you, to the Hokage at times and to most of the village. And like I said, he should apologize, but given all of the hate and cruelty he has put up with since he was old enough to recognize it, he does deserve some slack. You, and all of the people who know his situation fully should give him some." Sakura was out of breath by the time she had finished.

Raidô was shocked. He didn't know that either of Uzumaki's teammates were aware of the Kyûbi. "You are talking about something you do not understand and are not supposed to be privy to."

"Hokage-sama told Naruto he could tell those he wished to." Frustrated that the man still couldn't or wouldn't see his unfair treatment she lost her patience. "Aren't you the least bit ashamed of bullying the son of the Fourth?!" It was a low blow and Sakura was stunned at the way Namiashi's face crumpled at the question.

For the first time since the heated discussion had started the man looked away from her. The pink haired girl dropped her head, slightly guilty that she had shown all their cards without permission.

"He knows?"

Sakura nodded in response.

Silence reigned for several moments leaving the two to their own thoughts. Sakura wished she could read minds like Kakashi-sensei seemed to be able to. The look on the special jônin's face was sad and guilty, but there was relief there too and the girl wondered what he was thinking. Without another word the man made to leave and Sakura found herself wanting to call him back. Something flared against her senses and Sakura realized that Naruto and Sasuke had returned.

Her two teammates' heads bobbed into view beyond the garden wall and finally the two stumbled into view. Sakura blinked. Naruto and Sasuke were leaning heavily on each other as they tripped their way up the stone path.

They were both giggling.

Sakura's jaw was somewhere at her feet and Namiashi who had come to stand by her side was frowning deeply.

"Sakura-chan! Oh and the serious one," Naruto called as the two stopped a ways away. "Mission complete Captain!" the blonde announced with an exaggerated salute. Sakura was just glad Naruto had forgone the second part of that nickname for Namiashi.

They were both drunk.

Sasuke yanked on Naruto's sleeve to get the blonde's attention and in a stage whisper said, "Maybe if Namiashi had a few rounds with Seria he would be able to find that stick up his ass and pull it out." Sakura face flamed and she didn't dare look at said man.

Naruto broke out laughing and to Sakura's horror opened his mouth again. "Maybe if he asked nicely she would help."

"Shut up both of you!" Sakura hissed, finally able to cut through the disbelief that held her voice captive.

"Sakura, next time we need to demand that you join us. Not fair they don't want a girl. You shoulda seen Sasuke!" Naruto wavered on his legs and Sakura had to reach out and grab him to keep him upright. "Thank you Sakura-chan!" Naruto didn't let go of her arms after he was stabilized.

"This behavior is unacceptable." Namiashi's dry voice cut the air like a kunai.

Naruto's face turned mulish and Sakura was terrified that he was going to say something stupid so she dug her nails into his arm hard enough to draw blood. The drunken boy just frowned at her as if she were just squeezing too tight.

"We were invited to engage our clients in a social manner after the mission was completed and we accepted. What about that is unacceptable?" It seemed that even alcohol couldn't make Sasuke sound more normal, but his eyes were unfocused as they looked up at the irate special jônin.

"You have another mission beginning at eight in the morning tomorrow. Your choices tonight have diminished your capacity to perform adequately."

Well, this was just great, Sakura thought. She had made some headway in Naruto being treated more fairly and now it was all down the toilet.

"Pshhh," Naruto dismissed, releasing Sakura to wave an arm at Namiashi. "We'll be fine come morning Captain."

"That remains to be seen." Raidô looked like he wanted to add more but thought better of it. "Get yourselves to bed and try to drink some water before you do." He disappeared into the outpost leaving Sakura and her two drunken teammates.

"I can't believe you would pull something like this!" she complained.

"Hey it was Sasuke's idea!" Naruto protested as Sakura pulled them both along to the bunkroom.

"Well it seems even Sasuke isn't immune to being an idiot!"

Instead of erupting in anger at being called his favorite insult Sasuke laughed. If Sakura wasn't so stressed about what Namiashi was going to do to them the next morning she would have been amused. The pink haired girl left them to change into their sleeping clothes and went to get water, she also remembered how her mom would give her dad some headache medicine after he had been drinking with his business associates.

The temptation to go and try and smooth this incident over with Namiashi grew as she filled two glasses with water. Seeing the light in the office still on after leaving the kitchen, temptation won against the more reasonable line of action.

The special jônin sat at his desk in the office reading, when Sakura stepped in. He looked up but before she could say anything in defense of her teammates the brown haired man held up a hand to stop her. "You do not need to worry Haruno-san. As their mission was complete I will not be writing them up for improper behavior. I'm well aware teenagers do stupid things. I know it must seem unbelievable to you considering the stick that seems to be lodged in my ass, but I was a teenager once." Sakura's face grew hot in embarrassment. The man stiffly smiled. "Go take care of them and get some sleep yourself. You may have to pull most of the weight tomorrow."

Sakura nodded, flashing a small smile of her own. Before she left the office she turned around. "Namiashi-san? Please call me Sakura."

"Well then, please call me Raidô, Sakura-san." This time Raidô's smile wasn't quite as stiff.

Feeling much lighter Sakura headed back to the bunkroom. On the way she heard what sounded like vomiting coming from the bathroom. Fantastic.

* * *

Namiashi Raidô sat in the mission office the next day pouring over paperwork. The three genin had dutifully woken up at six that morning and readied themselves for their morning mission despite two of them being massively hungover. He took a little joy in watching them try and cover the fact that they had both been sick most of the night.

Raidô wasn't sure what he had done to deserve the situation he was currently in. When the Hokage gave him this assignment he had not questioned it as that wasn't his place, but that did not mean he had no feelings on the matter.

The string of bad luck that had landed him in the outpost had started with the failed mission in Wind. Raidô had torn several ligaments in his shoulder, ligaments that according to three different medic-nins would never fully heal. Nearly a month into his rehab Raidô had been summoned to the Hokage's office for a mission and the special jônin had dared to hope that perhaps his shoulder injury wouldn't mean the end of his career.

That hope died when he realized he had received a glorified babysitter mission. It was worse when he realized just who all he would be babysitting.

In the beginning Raidô had nothing against the Fourth's son. On the contrary he was very much looking forward to one day meeting the boy and watching over him. Then he met him.

The blonde who looked so much like his father was crass (incredibly so for a child), rude, and downright disrespectful to everybody. Even the Hokage. It was unacceptable. Raidô didn't even think about the time that the little brat had … It was better not to dwell on it.

As one of the Hokage's guards it hadn't been his place to instruct the boy's behavior so in the past whenever the boy acted out, Raidô ignored it and if he glared at Naruto once or twice who could blame him.

But now he was Team 7's temporary team leader and it became Raidô's mission to whip Naruto's behavior and mission performance into that of a respectable shinobi. If he corrected the boy with a little more zeal and relish than his teammates it was hardly noticeable. Or so he had thought.

After Team 7's disastrous first impression, which the trained assassin had discovered later on was completely fabricated by the genin themselves, Raidô had been surprised to find the newly graduated team were surprisingly competent. They had a lot to learn, which was to be expected but still the team had more potential than most. The revelation left him feeling bitter and slightly proud.

Raidô paused as he looked over the schedule for upcoming missions. When he reflected on his behavior after Sakura's confrontation, he really would have preferred to be confronted by anyone other than her, he saw just how out of hand he had acted. It was embarrassing and completely unprofessional.

Sighing the scarred shinobi raised a hand to the side of his face that was unmarked and rubbed. This entire assignment was a shit show. He should have kept one of the genin back from the mission to help him with the paperwork for the day, but he hadn't wanted any of them around as he tried to piece back together his mask of professionalism.

There was a C-rank mission on the books for the next day and the genin team that was to take it had not arrived yet. Raidô wasn't sure what he was going to do if they didn't show up. He couldn't leave the outpost and complete it with Team 7. Team 7 wasn't experienced enough to take it on their own. To make matters worse the mission was contracted by the city of Takikawa itself. It was the first contract from the city Konoha had won. If it was completed successfully it would be a major step in building Konoha's rapport with the wealthy city.

Team 7 could probably handle it. The mission was a simple escort and protection detail that would take about three days to complete. Each night would be spent in a nearby town. The traveling party would consist of a few city officials and four of Takikawa's own guardsmen. They were to collect and transport taxes.

If the other team didn't show up by that night Raidô wouldn't have much of a choice. He would have to send Team 7. For a genin team they were quite skilled. There had been no instances of trouble in the area other than a couple of highway men robberies. Nothing Team 7 couldn't take care of. They should do fine.

But that didn't change how much Raidô did not want to send them.

* * *

Sticky, slow and uncomfortably warm liquid trickled down the back of Naruto's neck and beneath his shirt.

Air was whipping through his hair, braches broke across his body and the occasional thorn dug into his skin, but he couldn't feel any of it.

His legs were like lead, but he forced one foot in front of the other at a rapid pace. His lungs burned. He couldn't feel it though.

All he could feel was the way his shirt was sealed to his back and pulled at his skin as he shifted the weight that lay across his back. His back that was drenched in her blood.

His friend's blood.

Sakura's blood.

How long had he been running? Was she even breathing anymore? Naruto couldn't feel it. Couldn't feel anything.

Except the blood.

Sakura's blood.

This was not acceptable. Sakura couldn't die. If she died her name would end up on that god damnned stone and Naruto had promised that, that would not happen.

He had promised.

Something flickered in him, something that he could feel. And he knew instantly didn't belong. The sensation started like an itch that he would later describe to Kakashi as being just under his skin. From an itch it exploded till he felt as if even the skin underneath his nails was burning, melting and healing and melting again.

Strength he had never felt before surged in him. His legs churned faster and propelled him farther.

Naruto nearly tripped when he heard the ragged breath his dying teammate drew in from behind him. The sound, proof that he was still carrying a living body spurned him to run faster with this new found power. His body dodged out of the way of objects too solid to crash through on instinct alone.

Takikawa sprung up around him, but Naruto felt no relief. As he skidded to a halt in front of the outpost he called out for Raidô. The genin carefully swung his teammate from his back and into his arms. His voice cracked as he called out for help again.

His teammate's blood was now down his front.

His friend's blood.

Sakura's blood.

Raidô appeared before him. Naruto hadn't noticed the man's presence because his attention was too focused on how pale Sakura's face was and how red the blood staining her cheek was.

Sakura's blood.

"Naruto, you need to bring her inside," Raidô commanded.

The burning energy that had filled Naruto moments before drained out of him, leaving his limbs feeling hollow and brittle.

His friend's blood was so cool on his hands.

Sakura's blood.

He was being guided into the outpost's tiny medical room. He vaguely acknowledged the presence of others and anger flared in him briefly, but he couldn't say what he was angry about. Sakura was so heavy in his now weak arms.

"Naruto you need to set her down so the medic-nin can help her."

He did so. Someone, the medic-nin stepped up beside him, hands already glowing with green chakra.

Raidô guided him out of the room. Naruto let himself be pushed into a chain in the office. Raidô was talking to another shinobi, the blonde genin had never met.

Her blood was everywhere.

Sakura's blood.

"He's going to save her, right?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.

The other two men in the room stopped speaking and turned to him. The unfamiliar jônin spoke, "Kabuto is a highly accomplished medic-nin."

It wasn't reassurance. It didn't mean she would live.

His friend's blood dried on his skin as he stared at nothing.

Sakura's blood.

Naruto idly realized as Raidô began to question him about what happened that he had not spilled any tears for his friend. Maybe crying as easily as he did had been a phase.

He wondered if he could ever cry enough to wash her blood off of him.

Sakura's blood.

* * *

A/N: Ok not gonna lie. I got caught up with a lot of stuff in my life and I didn't feel like posting for a while. I don't have plans to abandon this story but I can't promise rapid updates.

This chapter had mostly been written months ago but every ending I wrote didn't work and I eventually decided to take a break. When I came back with new ideas for future chapters I wrapped this one up with something a bit drabbely.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I'm sorry I didn't get this to you faster.


	6. Chapter 6 Objects in Mirror

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 6: Objects in Mirror are Closer Than they Appear

* * *

Sakura lifted her sweaty braid off the back of her neck and twisted it up into a bun, securing the cord of hair with an elastic tie from her wrist. The heat and humidity in the hills that surrounded Takikawa on all sides was smothering. Her wheat colored tunic was stuck to every side her she knew they still have a good four hour walk to go.

Glancing to the front of the slow moving covered wagon she saw Sasuke ignoring Iyori's attempts at conversation. The youngest of the four guardsmen that accompanied the party on their journey was somewhat ironically dismayed by how young her team was.

Sakura was a little unsure of this entire outing herself. They left the outpost two days ago. They were due back tomorrow to report to Raidô at 1800 hours sharp. They would spend tonight at another small village as they had done the two previous nights. It was the last stop on their mission and Sakura would be thankful when it was over.

In her opinion they shouldn't have taken it to begin with. Raidô voiced his reluctance in giving them this mission but also admitted that he did not really have a choice. Someone needed to take the mission and the assigned team was missing in action.

Both Naruto and Sasuke had seemed so pleased to take on a C-rank by themselves that Sakura kept her misgivings to herself. Plus Raidô explained how important this mission was to Konoha's relationship with Takikawa and Sakura couldn't fault his argument.

It really wasn't a difficult mission either. So far the only action were some miners glaring threateningly at the tax officials as they did their job.

Another guard fell into step next to her without a word. Kaito was a rather odd man. He was quiet and polite. He didn't seem to enjoy the company of the fellow guards and sat alone at meal times. He especially avoided the most boisterous of guards who Naruto took to quickly. On the second night Sakura finally attempted speaking to him and to her surprise found that instead of being reclusive he was just painfully shy.

She found out he was married and after asking about his family Kaito produced a picture of his wife and two young sons. Sakuracomplimented him on his family and the brown haired man blushed and stuttered out a thank you.

The pink haired genin did not attempt to speak to her walking companion as they followed the wagon, continuing on in silence. Kaito probably wouldn't appreciate her chatter and Sakura really didn't feel like trying to pull words from the introverted man.

Much later, Sakura would admit to Kakashi that she couldn't pin point what made her wary, just that something felt wrong. The oldest of the tax officials, Tanabe-san stuck his head out of the wagon and asked Kaito how far they were from their afternoon break.

It was the second time the man asked the question in an hour. If it had been Naruto asking she would have merely been annoyed at the blonde's lack of patience. But it wasn't Naruto. It was a grown man who was currently working and should have maintained some form of professionalism.

Someone else in her place might have taken his repeated question as a sign of fatigue.

"_If something doesn't feel right it's usually because it isn't. Instinct is a powerful thing and in most cases it will keep you alive."_

The feeling of wrongness spread and Sakura felt the her heartbeat pick up as she spread out her senses looking for a reason to her sudden anxiety. The hairs on Sakura's neck stood up as she came to a halt and her spine went rigid. The sensation of cool metal in her hand registered before she even realized she had reached for a kunai.

"Sakura?" Kaito questioned from beside her.

Sharp green eyes caught the slight rustle of bushes far ahead and with a flick of her wrist Sakura threw the kunai with more accuracy and force than she once had ever dreamed being capable of.

Her action seemed to set everything in motion.

Sakura pivoted on her foot as she sensed three projectiles headed towards her from the forest to her right, completely forgetting Kaito was standing next to her.

The shinobi that threw the weapons came at her head on, kunai in hand and Sakura reacted as she had a thousand times in her brawls with her teammates. She dodged to the side and her hands flew together as chakra and adrenaline pulsed in her.

Her mind crafted the illusion on autopilot as she ducked under a kick. She knew her genjutsu took hold in her opponent's mind when he flinched and struggled to pick up the foot he just set down. Sakura smoothly whipped around to his back and before the enemy shinobi's mind could process that he couldn't possibly have stepped into quick sand and before Sakura could think about the result of her actions she jumped to give herself a bit more height and brought a fresh kunai down on the back of his neck, quickly and efficiently severing the spinal cord.

Blood, hot and thick and horrifyingly real greeted her hand as she held onto her blade and the enemy's body crumpled like a puppet that's stings had been cut. Sakura yanked the blade back out of the man's neck, the man she had just killed very, very easily.

Gasping for breath she didn't know she had been holding the young genin stumbled back staring at all the red on her. She turned to see more blood on the ground. Its source being the man who showed her his family the night before, three kunai buried in his torso. Bile rose up her esophagus but Sakura swallowed it down. Now was not the time to lose it.

She couldn't lose it.

The clang of metal on metal and the cries of panicked horses finally broke through over the rush of blood and thudding of her heartbeat.

They were being attacked, obviously. Where was Naruto? Kaito was dead. What was she supposed to do? She just killed someone. What would her father say?

The genin could see her teammate in the distance. Sasuke drew his own fight away from the wagon full of civilians; a part of her mind that was not freaking out recognized the smart choice. If only Sakura had been so aware when she dodged out of the way of those kunai Kaito would still be alive.

How long had she been standing here?

Forcing her body to move Sakura checked on the wagon, trusting Sasuke to hold his own for a little bit longer.

"Shinobi-san?!" One of the officials cried as she appeared at the entrance pushing aside the cloth flap. Three men of varying ages all looking scared out of their wits talked at her at the same time but Sakura couldn't hear or process anything they said.

"Stay here and stay down," she managed to spit out before letting the flap back down.

Sasuke was several yards away trying to get in close to a kunoichi who utilized some sort of water techniques to keep him at a distance.

A pulse of familiar chakra grazed Sakura's awareness from the right and drew her senses to the surrounding area once again. The pink haired genin focused her attention in that direction as she ran to aid Sasuke. The pulse meant that Naruto who was on scouting duty with another guard before the attack was alive and aware of what was going on.

But not all was good. Another chakra signature was coming in fast from that direction and it wasn't her friend. Sakura pushed her legs faster as her mind processed the trajectory of the unknown signature. It was headed for Sasuke's unprotected back.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried out in warning. Her teammate turned just in time to see the flash of a blade and a swirl of pink before the weight of two bodies slammed into him and they all tumbled to the ground.

Sakura felt the long knife go in. She heard it parting her flesh. Grabbing at the hilt she tried her best to keep it at bay while the world rolled around her. With her other hand she tried to reach for another kunai. The man who engaged her brought his other hand up to grasp the handle of the blade digging deeper in her chest. Beady black eyes locked on hers.

A dark blue sandal shot across her field of vision and collided with the enemy shinobi's face. Sakura took the opportunity to stab the man in the heart through the ribs just like her sensei taught her.

Dimly she could hear Sasuke fighting the woman, but Sakura couldn't move. The black eyed shinobi still lay atop her body partly and she didn't have the strength to move him. Numbly, she stared down at the knife sticking out of the side of her chest and watched the blood bloom across her shirt. It was oddly pretty.

She drew a pained breath. Was this the end? All that work and all that pain, just to die in her first live fight? Well this fucking sucks she thought as her vision dimmed.

"Sakura!"

Sasuke's face was close to hers but she barely made out his outline, but as consciousness left her Sakura could have sworn his eyes were red and spinning.

* * *

Sasuke's brain was working overtime. After detangling himself from the tussle between Sakura and the enemy shinobi his attention was ripped back to his previous appointment. The kunoichi that attacked him and killed the guards quickly realized Sasuke outmatched her in taijutsu and repelled his physical advances with water jutsu. She couldn't keep it up though. A couple of well-thrown shurikan that anticipated her dodge of a small fire jutsu caught her in the face and neck and she went down.

Sasuke ignored the voice in his mind that sounded a lot like Karachi and shouted at him to confirm his enemy was dead. He chose instead to return to his teammate. Kneeling down he saw just how bad of shape she was in. Sakura was bleeding out and by the way she was breathing at least her lung was damaged. Sasuke's thoughts flew in different directions. He needed to stop the bleeding. There were three dead Kiri-nin and three dead guards and a wagon full of civilians. Naruto was coming. Sakura was lying in front of him with a knife sticking out of her, a knife that probably would have ended his life if Sakura hadn't have intervened.

Carefully, Sasuke removed the dead Kiri-nin from atop his injured teammate making sure to not jostle the blade in her. He heard footsteps approach him. Sasuke could tell from the limp in the steps that it was the oldest of the tax officials, but couldn't recall the old man's name. Sakura was dying.

She saved his life.

"Shinobi-san." Sasuke didn't look up from his teammate as he tried to force his hands to stop shaking as he rummaged through the contents of the storage scroll he upended onto the ground moments before. Sakura couldn't die here he would not allow it. "Shinobi-san we need to move from this place the guard who was driving is dead."

Anger brought back Sasuke's voice. "Get back into the wagon until I say you can get out," Sasuke snapped lashing out with killing intent to make his point clear. The man nearly fell trying to scramble away from the genin.

"Sasuke!" Naruto was there. What the fuck had taken him so long? Sakura was dying! "Sakura?"

Sasuke decided he could be angry at the blond later. "You need to get her back to the outpost." The black haired boy flinched at the wet sound of the knife sliding out of his teammate's body and gripped the knife hard.

His friend was dying.

He quickly pressed the square gauze bandaged the wound and sealed it tightly with tape as Naruto blabbed incoherently at him. His hands were warm with the blood of his friend and his mind was trying to block out the memory of his body being drenched in someone else's blood. His hands shook. He needed to keep it together a little longer.

"Naruto!" the last Uchiha snarled finally looking his teammate full in the face. "You need to take Sakura and you need to go."

"But what about you?"

"She's dying. She needs help now. You will be faster with her weight. At full speed we're not even half an hour away."

The blonde nodded and together the boys managed to get Sakura's limp but still alive body situated on his back. Once she was set Naruto looked to Sasuke and opened his mouth to say something but then must have though better of it. He disappeared from sight in a blur of green, yellow and pink.

Sasuke lurched to his feet. Sakura had saved his life, possibly at the cost of her own. His friend was dying.

Naruto's strong signature and Sakura's dimming one left his senses a few seconds later. Sasuke looked around at the mess left behind. There was nothing more he could do for Sakura and that knowledge opened him to the exhaustion that weighed on him. Staggering toward the wagon Sasuke finally acknowledged the difference in his vision.

He didn't need a mirror to confirm what it meant. He heard others describe their first experiences enough to know that he had finally awakened his sharingan. If it had been under different circumstances Sasuke would have felt happy maybe. He felt nothing. But he needed to turn it off. It was drawing to much chakra and he was going to pass out if he couldn't stop it.

"_Help me awaken my sharingan," Sasuke demanded. He was still breathing hard from the spar they had just finished and his teacher gave him a blank look at the command. _

_Dusk had crept up on them. Sakura and Naruto had already left for dinner and the library. Sasuke had asked for a spar to try out some of the new taijutsu moves he was trying to work into his family form._

_Kakashi sighed and relaxed into his usual slumped posture. "I am sure you heard enough stories from your relatives when you were young. Very few and by few I mean maybe two or three in the entire history of your family awoke their sharingan outside of real combat." _

_Sasuke grimaced, knowing this to be true but resenting the fact that Kakashi, an outsider knew this about his clan. _

_Kakashi spoke again, "But even if I can't help you with awakening it I can help you with what you will need to do once you achieve awakening it for the first time." Not understanding what his teacher was getting at he raised an eyebrow in question. "Why do you think I keep mine covered all the time?"_

_Sasuke shrugged in response keeping his face blank. He was tired and aching from the day of training and if it would do any good he would demand his teacher for once just speak plainly._

_A silver eyebrow rose in a mocking response to his shrug and Sasuke would have loved nothing more than to punch his teacher in the face. Trying to ignore his rising hunger and need to sit down Sasuke thought. Why indeed keep the eye covered? Why not just deactivate the sharingan… "You can't turn it off."_

"_No I can't."_

"_But why not? You can control it. You have used it in spars before, why is turning it off any different."_

"_It is a consequence of the way it was implanted and to try and change it now risks me losing the eye altogether. Maybe someday I will decide I no longer have a use for it, but for now the eye stays. Having it covered is just a way to force it closed. Closing it nearly mimics the sharingan being turned off, but there is still a small draw on my chakra."_

"_So you want me to learn how to turn it off before I even have awakened it?"_

"_Trust me you will want to know how to do it, especially if you end up awakening it in a combat situation. The sharingan is a large burden on your chakra and many Uchiha ended up passing out from chakra exhaustion in the field some even died from overuse."_

_Sasuke nodded, he had heard this before from his relatives. _

"_Right the first step is you need to become more aware of your entire chakra system. I know Sakura has started meditation. You should join her, it will help. Now sit down and lets see if you can do a simple exercise…"_

Sasuke calmed his breathing and turned his senses inward. He could clearly feel the chakra being drawn at an alarming rate from his center up to his head and finally into his eyes. After practicing the mental motion for some time with his teacher it was nearly effortless to slow and thin the engorged flow to something resembling the normal cycle of chakra up to his eyes.

Black eyes opened again to the world. He breathed deeply feeling as if something had been weighing his chest down before. Wincing as he recognized chakra exhaustion Sasuke evaluated his options.

He was highly vulnerable if there were more enemies out there he had a slim chance of being able to fight them off.

He had four choices. He could continue on the path to the last stop of the mission. He could turn around and go back to the previous village, but that would be farther then continuing on so Sasuke vetoed that idea. He could and wanted to return to Takikawa. The image of Sakura stabbed pushed to the forefront of his mind. She had saved his life. The laughter, near hysterical bubbled up his throat. Who would have thought that the annoying fan girl would end up dying for…

Naruto would make it in time he decided. Sakura would not die, not for him. He wasn't worth it. Sasuke's legs began to shake under the effort of keeping his body upright. Gracelessly collapsing against the side of the wagon Sasuke struggled to regain his focus. Reaching to his hip pouch he ripped into an energy bar. He would be no good to anyone if he couldn't stand. After eating the tired genin settled into a meditative breathing pattern and through force of will turned his mind away from his two teammates.

Takikawa was even further than the village they had left that morning. Sasuke doubted in his current condition that he could make it. He could also stay exactly where he was, but if any more Kiri-nin showed up…

The thought led Sasuke to how the Kiri-nin had even found them in the first place. Sasuke was almost certain that no one had followed them since their journey began that morning. The young shinobi ran through the mission particulars he was aware of, coming to the conclusion that this attack could not be random. Their attackers were too coordinated. One shinobi for each of them and they had known that at least one of Team 7 would have been on patrol. The obvious conclusion was that the enemy had somehow gotten their route from someone.

One of the guards was still missing. The one who had been on patrol with Naruto. He could have been the inside man, or he could be lying in the woods somewhere already collecting flies.

He needed more information. Using the side of the wagon to support his journey, Sasuke moved to the back of the wagon and opened the flap. The three men stared at him, silently taking in the gore that covered his torso.

"Three of your guards are dead. One is unaccounted for but presumably dead as well. My team has eliminated three enemy shinobi. Our position is not a good one. If there are more out there we cannot adequately defend you."

"I told you these kids weren't good enough!"

"What are we going to do?"

"We should have demanded that older shinobi come with us!"

"Silence!" Sasuke hissed flooding the immediate area with killing intent and pushing a small amount of chakra into his eyes. One of his hands slammed down onto the bed of the wagon. It looked like a move to intimidate but really he need the support to keep himself upright. He could tell from the way the men recoiled that his eyes were beginning to bleed red. Sasuke made sure not to turn on the sharingan though as it would no doubt sap his strength before he got to the truth.

"Someone must have given the Kiri-nin the route we are on. We are turning around and returning to the previous village."

The oldest man frowned, brow furrowing at the suggestion that someone leaked information. "Why would we return there? We are far closer to Shibetsu. We should continue on so that we can seek shelter for the night. The Kiri-nin are dead surely we are safe now."

"And what if there are more? If we continue on to Shibetsu we risk being attacked even further away from Takikawa," the man to the left of the oldest scoffed. "We will be even further away from help if more come."

"Shouldn't we stay exactly where we are? You can send one of your teammates to get help. It would be easier to be found if we stay put." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the older man who had seen him tend to Sakura. Had he not shared with his colleagues that Sakura had been grievously wounded? Why not? The olderman's eyes darted to the youngest official who had suggested staying put and then back to Sasuke. The senior tax official was obviously trying to communicate something.

Cold, black eyes focused on the youngest man who hadn't noticed the glance. "You want us to stay put so more of your allies can find us?"

The man blinked at him rapidly, "What?"

"Tanabe-san," finally recalling the oldest man's name, "who knew about the route we were taking?" Sasuke asked.

"The three of us and the four guards and one more my secretary who I have personally known since her birth."

"Those shinobi weren't following us. They knew we would be here, because you told them."

"Kon?" the other official asked glancing between his boss and his subordinate.

"I didn't tell anyone!" Kon the accused said, looking between everyone and shaking his head. "It wouldn't be hard to figure out where we would be! Tanabe-san I swear I didn't tell anyone."

"You came to me last month for an advance and you argued against hiring the Kohona shinobi for this trip."

Kon made a noise of dissent as his tongue tripped over words at the sight of Sasuke withdrawing a kunai. "Hiring them was a huge expense, I have been telling you for weeks that the budget can't afford it. The numbers don't add up and you said yourself that we have never had any trouble on the collection route. I asked for that advance because I needed it for my family."

The desperation in his voice broke through the haze of red Sasuke was seeing. He wanted someone to pay for the state Sakura was in, but the man seemed to be telling the truth and the things Kon said struck him. Takikawa was a prosperous city. Sakura had said so in her first description of the city to the Hokage. Why would they not be able to afford to hire shinobi? And if they never had any trouble on this route before why hire a team of shinobi this time?

The men broke into squabbling as Sasuke contemplated what he knew. Tanabe was the head of the tax office. He was the oldest and Sasuke recalled him joking about his old bones aching on the first night and saying that this was his last year before retirement. The other man who had the most unremarkable face Sasuke had ever seen, and whose name he couldn't recall would take over the head position once Tanabe retired. Kon was the youngest in the office and had a small family relying on him.

So who had the most to gain and the least to lose if this trip went to hell?

The thunk of a shurikan sinking deep into wood broke up the argument in front of the young genin.

Three pairs of eyes turned to him as Sasuke stepped into the wagon. Kon shrunk back believing that Sasuke was headed for him. But the black haired boy passed him and crouched down to be on eye level with Tanabe shaking not with exhaustion but murderous rage.

For the first time in his life Sasuke purposefully turned on his sharingan and stared down the man who was perhaps responsible for his teammate's death.

"It was you."

Tanabe began to shake his head in denial, but then grimaced instead. "You were supposed to be some stupid kids, you were all supposed to die."

The man was going to continue but Sasuke raised a kunai and silenced him with it.

* * *

Naruto paced. Two hours had passed since he stumbled back into the outpost with Sakura in his arms. After handing Sakura over to the care of the medic-nin Raidô had gotten Naruto to talk through what had happened and dispatched the jônin and other two genin to meet up with Sasuke. Raidô explained that they were the team that was supposed to take this mission but had arrived two days late. A mix up in the paperwork somewhere apparently had caused the delay. A mistake on paperwork was the reason Sakura…

Naruto shook his head. Sakura was strong. She would pull through this. Little to no noise came from the medical room and the young genin tried to convince himself that it was good sign.

The blonde was torn between wanting to see his other teammate home and staying with Sakura when the other team departed. Grumbling to himself as he glanced at the clock that Sakura hung on the kitchen wall nearly a week before he almost wished that he had gone with the rescue team. At least he would have had something to do. Raidô forbid him from entering the medical room and eventually left him alone after not being able to talk him into cleaning himself up or eating.

Naruto heard the door to the med room down the hall open and he was there before the medic could even take one step out of the room. It was the first time he truly looked at the medic-nin. The medic-nin was in his older teens with long grey-white hair that reminded the genin of Kakashi and wore rather large spectacles.

"You must be Naruto."

"You must be Kabuto. Is she…" Naruto's voice broke off and he swallowed thickly.

The older teen smiled gently. "Your teammate will be fine."

The relief that Naruto felt was heady and he stumbled forward into the other genin who caught him. "Sorry," Naruto said quickly as he backed away and poked his head around to look past the grey haired shinobi. "Can I?"

Kabuto nodded and stepped to the side to allow Naruto in the room. Sakura lay there pale and still hooked up to an IV drip of blood and other fluids. Her top half was wrapped in fresh linen bandages. If Naruto couldn't see the minute rising and falling of her chest he would have figured she wasn't actually alive.

"She should probably stay asleep until tomorrow." Naruto vaguely registered Raidô coming into the room. "Her left lung was punctured. I have healed the surrounding tissue damage but the lung will take time and further treatment to completely repair. She also lost a massive amount of blood. I understand you needed to get her back here but next time do all you can to leave the object in the wound until it can be treated it will greatly decrease the blood loss," Kabuto said.

Naruto was barely listening as he took Sakura's warm hand in his still bloody one. "Good work. Your team was dispatched to retrieve Team 7's final member and aid in whatever is left of this mess of a mission. Get some food in you and rest," Raidô ordered.

Realizing that Sakura's savior was leaving the room Naruto quickly turned, "Thank you," he managed to get out.

Kabuto merely flashed another smile and left through the doorway.

"Naruto…" Raidô began staring awkwardly at the two teammates.

"I know I need to clean up and eat and fill out a mission report and I promise I will do it, but please," Naruto turned to look up at the senior shinobi who had been making his life a lot more difficult for the last week, "just give me a few more minutes with her. I," the blonde swallowed hard fighting to maintain a steady voice, "I almost lost her."

Raidô nodded. "Ten minutes and no more. She made it, Naruto. Because of you she made it."

The genin said nothing in response because there was nothing to say. It wasn't true at all. Sakura did not survive because of him. It was his fault she was hurt in the first place.

"_Try and keep up old man!" Naruto cried as he jogged through the forest._

"_Naruto this may come as a shock to you," huffed the elder, "but I'm not that old!" With a war cry the guard rushed forward and caught up with the grinning blonde. _

"_No you aren't Bo-san, but you are a grandfather to be!" _

_The veteran guard laughed and slowed his pace. "That is true but I will have you know it's just because I was so in love with my sweet Ikuko that I had kids at a young age." _

_Naruto rolled his eyes and slowed his pace as well. The pair had been put on patrolling the surrounding area around the wagon as it moved slowly towards the next town. Well the wagon wasn't moving fast at all it would be moderately difficult for a non-shinobi to keep up the pace required to orbit around the moving party. _

_Team 7 tried to explain this to Tanabe-san, but the man officially in charge of the mission demanded that one of Takikawa's guards be on patrol duty as well. _

_Beside him Bo-san let out a slow breath and sat down a fallen log. "Where are we in relation to the wagon?" _

_Naruto sent out a small chakra pulse that was echoed by one from Sakura. "They are ahead us right now. It will take about five minutes for us to catch up if we just take an easy jog."_

_The guard nodded at this and took a swig from his canteen. "Damn," he cursed. "I'm dry." _

_Naruto pulled out his own to find that he too was empty. They were bound to stop soon for their noon break, but scanning Bo-san's flushed features and sweaty brow Naruto decided he could spare the energy for the jog back to a clear creek they had passed only a mile or so back._

"_Here," the blonde said offering his hand for the canteen, "There was a creek a mile back or so. I should be back before they get too far ahead of us that we need to really run to catch up." _

_His new friend smiled in gratitude and Naruto took off. _

_It wasn't even five minutes before he was back to his friend's resting place. Bo was slumped over on his side on the log. "Come on old man you can't be that tired," Naruto teased as he made his way over to the guard. _

_Bo didn't respond. Moving to stand in front of the log Naruto stared at his friends wide-open and most certainly dead eyes. Blood coated his neck and chin and the collar of his jacket. The blonde's mind tried to process what had happened. _

_Bo was dead. He had a wife and three children. Two of which were married. One was currently pregnant. He wanted to quit guard duty and open his own soba shop. He excitedly told Naruto all about his plans repeated and he already had a space rented in Takikawa for the shop. _

_That would never happen, because he was dead, here, in front of Naruto. Blood dripped onto leaves as Naruto staggered backwards. Two very familiar chakra signatures flared to life as Naruto tried to pull his gaze away from his fallen friend. Bo was dead. Bo who ate dinner with him just last night. _

_Sakura and Sasuke needed him, but his feet didn't want to move. Opening his mouth, Naruto struggled for words. "I'm…I'm sorry," he managed before finally getting one foot than the other to move as he struggled to make his way to his teammates. _

_Naruto barely registered the dead body of another guard and what was probably an enemy shinobi as he came upon the party. The horses were shying away from confused and unsure what do, their driver dead at the lead of the wagon. _

_Sasuke was crouched over two bodies lying on the road and Naruto's stomach dropped as he noticed pink hair peeking out from one side. Dizzy with anxiety Naruto ran to aid Sasuke._

Naruto's grip on Sakura's hand tightened. It was completely his fault. He shouldn't have strayed so far from the party when he went to get water. He shouldn't have frozen when he discovered Bo's body.

It was his fault.

Some shinobi he was. He couldn't even keep his teammates safe.

"Naruto." Raidô was back. Naruto didn't want to deal with him. The man obviously had his number. Naruto wasn't fit to be a shinobi of Konoha. "Naruto look at me." An order. Slowly blue eyes rose to meet Raidô's brown. "This was not your fault."

Anger, frustration and guilt boiled in the blonde's stomach. "It was too! You weren't there, you don't know what happened, what I did! What I didn't do! I wasn't there with them. I wasn't there to help!" Tears burned, but Naruto refused to let them fall. He would not cry now. He had not been able to shed a tear when Sakura was dying and he would not cry now, not over his own guilt. "I failed them and I failed Kakashi-sensei. I-" A coughing fit interrupted his tirade as emotion choked of his words.

"Naruto do you know what it means to be shinobi?" Raidô asked.

"Shinobi lie, cheat, steal and kill," Naruto answered remembering what Sakura had said during their test with Kakashi.

"That's true, we do do that, but what does it mean to be a shinobi?" Raidô asked again.

Naruto frowned knowing that Kakashi had asked the question that day, but the question had not been answered really.

"The truth is it means something different to everyone." Raidô crouched down so that he looked up at the boy who was the spitting image of his late Hokage. "I am a body guard and an assassin. To me being a shinobi means giving up my life for whoever I am protecting. It means ending someone's life when I am ordered to. When you accepted that hitai-ate you accepted that your life was no longer just yours. Did Sakura accept her hitai-ate?"

Naruto nodded seeing where Raidô was going. "But, she would have been fine if-"

The older shinobi interrupted his protest, "Even if you were there there is no guarantee that she would not have been hurt. Being shinobi is accepting death not just your own, but your teammates' as well." Raidô looked towards Sakura. "If Sakura had died you would not have been the first shinobi to lose a teammate. Or the first to blame themselves." Naruto instantly thought of Kakashi and shuddered. His teammate had actually died. "But you must remember that you didn't lose her. You can't live in a world of what ifs." Raidô rose to his full height. "Now that you know she will be just fine I want you to get cleaned up. Get something to eat and then start on your report."

Naruto nodded and gave Sakura's hand one last squeeze. Sakura was alive. His friend was alive. For now it was what he needed to focus on.

* * *

Raidô sat down heavily in his office chair. The simple escort mission he sent Team 7 on was now a complete nightmare. The contract holder, Tanabe Kiyomaru betrayed the route information to Kirigakure and was currently being held the Takikawa police.

Kaneko the jônin of Team 3 gave his report on the scene of the ambush after his team and Sasuke arrived back at the outpost from the cleanup and retrieval. Team 7 took out three Kiri-nin and all four Takikawa guards were killed in the ambush. Raidô expected a visit from a city official sometime tomorrow to see what could be worked out between Konoha and Takikawa regarding mission pay and the future of relations between the two cities.

The mission would be going down in the books as a failure but with the note that it had been sabotaged by the contract holder which in turn broke the contract. Konoha would be within its rights to demand the full payment previously agreed upon. But given the loss of life Takikawa suffered in the debacle and the hope for continued contracts from the city Raidô had little doubt that he would be renegotiating.

Team 3's belated arrival which was another can of worms he didn't have time to deal gave them the opportunity to take another mission in the area, but given Sakura's condition they would be sent out without their third member. Though Raidô was hesitant to send another team out with a handicap Kaneko shared in private that this would be no great loss. Apparently Kabuto was an excellent medic-nin, but despite his talent in that particular field he was an utter failure in combat.

This left Raidô with a rather bleak rest of the week.

Naruto silently turned in his own mission report earlier on in the evening before returning to his teammate's side. Raidô hoped that their earlier talk had brought some sort of comfort to the normally rambunctious blonde.

The special jônin had hoped that Sasuke's return would have brought some relief to Naruto but that hope was destroyed when Sasuke finally returned to the outpost. The last Uchiha didn't acknowledge Naruto at all. He handed Raidô his own mission report which he completed on the journey, checked on Sakura and shut himself into one of the outposts spare rooms.

As expected Naruto did not take his teammate's reaction well. He moved some bedding into the medical room and last time Raidô checked was sitting and vacantly staring at the wall, lost in his own thoughts.

Raidô needed Hatake back. He needed him back now. His little chat with Naruto was all he thought he was capable of. There was no way he could possibly fix the rifts that seemed to be forming between the teammates. Why hadn't he just gone with them on the mission? It was only three days and he recieved clearance from the head mission office to dispatch Team 7 on their own given the risk report. He kept to the book and ignored his gut. He might have been following orders but it was his word that sent Team 7 out. His word. And in following orders Raidô spectacularly failed in his duty to watch over and protect Team 7.

Hatake was going to kill him. The Sandaime might even allow it.

Raidô didn't want to contemplate what state they would all be in if Sakrua had died. The duty to inform her family would have fallen on him as the commanding shinobi at the time of death. He would never have been able to look Chiho in the eye and tell her that her daughter was dead.

Chiho. He had been thinking of her more and more. Living in close proximity with her daughter would do that he supposed as he poured himself a drink. Sakura was nothing like her mother though, not in looks and not in temperament.

Raidô swirled the amber liquid in his glass. This was not the appropriate time to entertain these thoughts. No time was.

A knock at the door broke the silence that had settled over the outpost since Team 3 returned with Sasuke. Raidô stood and moved to answer the knock. Kaneko, the other jônin was coming down the hallway and he nodded to Raidô as he stopped a few feet away from the door.

The Yondaime's ex-bodyguard sensed three people outside the door. Sliding the door open slowly Raidô took in the three men, one elder and two armed guards at his side.

"My apologies for calling on you so late shinobi-san, but I am here as a representative of the city council."

Raidô nodded. He had been expecting them to come, just not quite this soon. "Your guards can wait outside. You will not come to harm while you are here, I swear on the honor of my village." Both guards shifted forward slightly at this but the councilman waved them off.

"Very well. I hope you have something stronger than water to offer me. We find ourselves in quite a mess," the man said with a sigh. Quite a mess indeed Raidô thought.

He led the coucilman into the office giving a quick glance to his desk, making sure there were no papers of sensitive nature left out. Sasuke was currently hold up in the room that would be used for these kinds of meetings. Gesturing the man towards a chair Raidô grabbed another glass.

"I wish to do away with any formalities and speak freely. I am Ochida Ryô, head of the Takikawa city council."

Raidô easily stifled the surprise that he felt at this announcement. He had not been expecting the head of the council. "I am Namiaishi Raidô, special jônin and current overseer of this outpost." He handed Ochida his drink before finding his own seat.

The man nodded and sighed rubbing his face and taking a sip. "Not bad whiskey," he commented. Ochida fell silent after that. Raidô took the moment to observe the man across from him. It was surprising that the head of the council chose to meet with him in person. It was a sign of respect to Konoha and Raidô had hope that it meant Takikawa was not terminating its relationship with Konoha.

"Ochida-san first let me give my condolences-"

A wrinkled hand stemmed Raidô's rehearsed speech. "I said I wished to do away with the formalities. Yes we lost four of our own, but it was because of the actions of one of our own. Should your people have been able to stop it?" He let the question hang and Raidô crushed the urge to snap to Team 7's defense. "Perhaps but it doesn't change the fact that the situation was caused by a man who I have known for longer than I would like to admit. We will not seek any kind of compensation for the loss of life from your village and I highly doubt we would have received any if we had tried to get it."

The councilman was right on all counts so far. Raidô wondered if the other shoe was about to drop.

"And we will continue to do business with your village."

That was surprising.

"I heard that one of yours was grievously injured. A young girl." The Raidô stiffened slightly at the mention of Sakura. "Will she pull through?"

"Yes she will make a full recovery," the special jônin answered with deliberate calm.

Ochida nodded. "Good. As far a payment is concerned, given the losses that we suffered, though they were guards the council has decided that we simply cannot pay the full amount previously agreed upon." The councilman watched Raidô for any kind of reaction to this, but his scrutiny was in vain. "Since we will continue to hire Konoha shinobi we hope you are willing to renegotiate the fee.

Raidô nodded. "We are more than willing. The continued patronage of your city is important to us." Raidô reached for pen and paper and wrote down a fraction of the original mission fee on it, handing it to the elder when he was done. "I believe you will find this more than fair."

Ochida took the paper and another sip from the tumbler he still held, nodding as he saw what was written.

"However, as you said your man is ultimately responsible and one of our shinobi nearly died because of his actions."

The councilman's eyes narrowed for a moment at his words, but then he grimaced as understanding came to him. "You want Tanabe." It wasn't a question.

"I don't think it is too much to ask."

"It is quite more than you think!" Ochida snapped and for the first time Raidô saw a hint of temper in the older man across from him. "I know you will execute him. He is-" Ochida cut his tirade off, pursing his wrinkled lips and clenching his jaw. "He was a good man," he finished, swallowing down the anger he was clearly experiencing.

"What we do with him is not your concern." Raidô stated blankly. There was no sympathy in him for a traitor. Tanabe and the councilman had obviously been friends. It was probably why Ochida came to deal with this issue in person instead of sending a representative. The bodyguard wished he could point out that Tanabe's fate would no doubt be the same if he stayed in Takikawa's custody. There was no way the city council could do anything but execute a man who had caused the deaths of four other citizens.

Ochida let his eyes slip shut as various emotions flit across his face. With a thud he forcefully placed the glass on the desk between them and stood, showing more energy than before but somehow looking older at the same time. "He will be transported here by midday tomorrow along with your payment."

And with that the councilman left.

But the day was not over for Namiashi Raidô.

Naruto's blonde head poked into the office not even five minutes later. "Uhh sir? Sakura is awake and I can't find Kabuto." Raidô wished he was anywhere but here. "Check the barbecue place down the road. I think he and his teammates went to get food. I will keep an eye on her when you're gone." He added as Naruto looked unsure about leaving. After a pointed look the genin still hesitated. "Don't make me order you Naruto."

The Yondaime's son sent him a dark look but left quickly. Obviously thinking that the sooner he finished his newly appointed task the sooner he could return to Sakura's side.

Raidô made his way to the med room wondering if he would ever sleep tonight. Sakura's pink head turned as he entered. The scarred shinobi saw her struggle to try and sit up right and quickly chided her. "You won't be able to sit up till tomorrow Sakura, so don't try."

The girl grimaced with pain and frustration. Raidô took a seat in the chair by her bed, stepping over the bedding Naruto brought in.

Sakura swallowed thickly before speaking, "Naruto filled me in on what happened after…" Her quiet voice trailed off as she blinked furiously and let out a shaky breath and tried to suck in too much air.

"Easy Sakura. Take short breaths. You are safe. Naruto and Sasuke are safe."

The genin managed a tiny nod as she fought to compose herself. Raidô gave her a moment before asking the question he truly didn't want to. "As you can't write out your report I will need you to tell me what happened. " Anxiety flickered across her young face and Raidô tried not to think about Chiho. "I know you want to do anything but this right now but the details will be fresher in your mind-"

"I know," Sakura responded cutting him off. "I know. I just." She swallowed again. She was struggling.

"Sakura…" Raidô pushed back his mounting frustration at his own inability to deal with this. There was a reason why he was still only a special jônin. Full jônin didn't just need to achieve a certain ability level. They needed to be able to lead. To be responsible for a team and handle them not only as shinobi but as people. It was not something that came naturally for him. But this was Chiho's daughter lying injured before him. Chiho's daughter, who took two enemy shinobi down in the field, saving one of her teammates. Chiho's daughter, who killed for the first time in her life. Chiho's daughter, who under different circumstances could have been his.

Raidô looked away from the girl. The wish he kept locked somewhere deep within him bubbled to the surface. It still stung to even acknowledge what could have been. But he had told Naruto that very day that a person cannot live in a world of what ifs. He made a choice long ago to put his duty before what he wanted. But right now he had another choice before him. Turning back to Sakura Raidô allowed his face to soften. He would be damned if he made the wrong choice again.

"Sakura," he began gently, "why don't I tell you what I know and you fill the details from your perspective alright."

Gratitude shown in her cerulean eyes and Raidô relaxed a bit. He was on the right track at least.

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry, I never intended to take this long of a break from this fic. I have had probably the most tumultuous year of my life between my surgery back in March, moving between countries, family getting married and passing on as well. I am homeless (between jobs and living arrangements not a dire situation by any means) at the moment so I can't promise an update very soon but this story is not going to be abandoned any time soon. Thank you for your reviews and your patience.

I don't feel this chapter is as good as the rest. It feels rushed to me but I need to get past this point because my muse is elsewhere right now. I will probably heavily edit this chapter in the future but right now I just want to move forward.

I know not everyone will like where I am going with Raidô but I want to say he is not going to suddenly be a father figure to Sakura. I also fear he may come off too much like Kakashi but they are very different at least in my mind. I hope to make that more apparent in coming chapters.

Reviewer Responses:

Okami Endless: Thank you so much for your review. I hope that this chapter lived up to your anticipation!

Illucida: More on the emotional fall out later I just couldn't make it fit in this chapter still too much to do. But the repercussions of this mission will go far beyond just the next chapter.

depressedchildre: I have no idea what it is called either, but I will keep a sharper look out for it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Naruto's sexy jutsu is not a favorite of mine so I never even thought of using it. I am not sure if it will ever make an appearance in my story. This is my bias and I know it isn't true to the character but I just… I can't write it. I hope these two things won't stop you from continuing to read.

Metastasis: Thanks for pointing that out to me I will be sure to correct it from here on.

InARealPickle: No it wasn't pay back and but they aren't on the best of terms. There will be more on their relationship later.

Ashfire28: Wow thank you for taking the time and effort to leave that review. I have to be honest I haven't read far enough of the manga to get Kakashi's full back story. I'm more working from what I have read and augmenting that with Wikipedia. Cheating I know but canon no longer interests me. Yeah Naruto isn't being fair or adult about his grudge against Kakashi, but Naruto is a child and feels abandoned by someone who in another life could have been an uncle figure to him. I do believe Kakashi was in the periphery of Naruto's childhood, but never truly involved himself and he feels guilt about that just like he feels guilt about everything else. He was in a dark place and Gai was instrumental at getting him out of it. While I may never flashback to those times Gai and Kakashi's friendship will be a feature in coming chapters. I have gone into the fact that Kakashi rarely displays his true emotions to anyone even his team, but I hope that I have shown that Kakashi has become attached to his new team and they have once again given him purpose which brings stability into his life. Kakashi is most attached to Naruto at this point. But I will be getting into his feelings on the other two in coming chapters. As far as Kakashi's training goes it's honestly a point I had not thought about till you brought it up. Kakashi was just such a lone wolf in the manga. I will definitely look into it. Right now Kakashi has gotten himself nearly back to his ANBU level, but you are right he may need some help improving himself past that point. Thank you for your review!

coral light: Team 7 doesn't exist without Kakashi in my opinion. Thanks so much for your review!


	7. Chapter 7 Slow and Steady

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 7: Slow and Steady

* * *

"You're recovering well," Kabuto said as he helped guide Sakura back down from her upright position. The older teen smiled down at her. "The severed muscle will take time to regenerate. The lung tissue will take longer and require a little push, but that is what I'm here for."

He turned to adjust her IV drip and Sakura allowed a grimace of pain she was hiding to cross her face. A knife to the chest sure as hell hurt. "Thank you Kabuto-san. I'm sorry you had to stay behind when your team will headed out today."

The medic-nin just smiled again, he really did that a lot Sakura was noticing. "I prefer the med room to a mission anyway, so that's no real loss," he assured.

Sakura nodded from her propped up position. "I thought the med-core doesn't start recruiting until you make chûnin."

Kabuto took Naruto's abandoned seat. Though it took more than one try Sakura finally convinced him to go eat breakfast and track down Sasuke. She was told by Raido he only left her side to clean up and use the bathroom. The concern for her well being was touching but left Sakura struggling to breathe. Her dark haired teammate had yet to make an appearance and Sakura was trying not to feel hurt over it. "Yes, that is true. I am not an official medic-nin yet."

"Surely you could pass the exams though?" Iryô-ninjutsu and Konoha's medic-nin program was one of the many topics covered in brief at the Academy. Though Sakura didn't know much about the field she knew that she was very close to death yesterday. The errant thought of her father being right flew through her head for a moment but was drowned out by the contradiction that Kabuto was only a genin yet some how had the skill to save her life.

"Oh I'm sure I could."

There was a smugness to his tone that made Sakura's jaw tight. She expected him to follow the statement with an explanation but none came. "But how did you learn iryô-ninjutsu if you weren't in the program?" Sakura questioned more directly, trying not to become frustrated with the teen's opaqueness. He saved her life after all.

"My father taught me from the time was a child," he answered simply.

Pink eyebrows rose at that. She wanted to ask more but held back her questions. It didn't seem as if he was trying to be difficult. He was perhaps someone who just preferred not to talk of themselves and really it wasn't her place to ask. Besides she didn't want to jeopardize him saying no to her next request. "Do you think, if you have time of course, you wouldn't have to-"

"You want me to teach you a bit," Kabuto finished for her with another smile.

Pale cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I have a thorough knowledge of first aid, but it would be good to know some iryô-ninjutsu."

"You know that iryô-ninjutsu isn't like any other discipline correct?" The smile faded from his face and his eyes behind those truly atrocious wire frames seem to assess her. Something about his gaze made her feel naked and her hands smooth over the blankets on top of her body as if to make sure they are still there. "To truly have a grasp on it takes more than just an hour or two of playing around like most ninjutsu. It takes years of study, a thorough understanding of anatomy and physiology as well as chemistry." Sakura's face fell. "I don't mean to discourage you. I want you to understand this isn't a field you waltz into."

The way he said 'waltz' burned Sakura like a hot poker just pulled from the fire. Though framed with kind words there was a tone of condescension about it. If she wasn't so tired she would be livid. The young genin was getting tired of people underestimating her. She wrestled with her tongue for a moment struggling to find polite words in the sea of curses boiling to come out. The pink haired girl knew she wouldn't get anything out of him if she snapped at him now. "I see," she said trying to sound disappointed rather than angry. "Could you maybe point me towards what I need to begin then?"

If Kabuto was surprised by her persistence he didn't show it. His made another pass over her form in evaluation. Sakura's right fist clenched beneath her covers. "I suppose I can part with some of my more rudimentary texts. It should serve you until you return to Konoha and can procure some of your own materials." Sakura was about to thank him for the unexpected offer when he added, "That is if you continue on past the basics."

Her jaw clenched as she bit back the words that are throwing themselves against her shut teeth. She somehow came up with some words of gratitude. Silence settled between the two and Sakura wished more than anything she had the freedom to leave the room. He may have saved her life but he was a jerk and she didn't want to spend another minute with him. "I think I need to sleep," she said pointedly.

Kabuto just nodded with another infuriating smile on his face. She was going to dream about wiping it off hopefully. "If you feel well enough I would suggest some light movement tomorrow. I will be in to check on you and change the IV before I turn in for the night."

Sakura let out a breath of relief when he finally left. She had yet to be alone since she woke up. Not that she didn't appreciate Naruto keeping her company but solitude was what she needed at the moment . She slipped the bloodstained envelope out from under the covers and began to read it again.

_Sakura,_

_I want you to know I love. I love you more than anything in the world, more than life itself._

_But I am not happy. I haven't been happy for a very long time. And that is not your fault. Know that none of this is your fault. _

_You are still so young, but you have already found a place for yourself in this world. There are not many who do as early as you. You have found people who not only accept you as you are but challenge you to be more. That is a gift you must never take for granted. It is more than friendship and as you grow older I am sure you will see it._

_I never found that. Please do not misunderstand me. I loved your father and I love you, but to be truly happy a comfortable life and a wonderful child isn't always enough. Neither is love. _

_I'm sorry I didn't have the courage to tell you all this before you left, but I didn't want you coming home to an empty house. When you return I will have left your father. It has been a long time coming. Please do not feel that your recent disagreement with him caused this. _

_I will still be in Konoha of course. I have found a small apartment and though we would have to share a bed you are more than welcome to stay with me. I will not be hurt if you continue to live at your home._

_Remember that I will always love you. _

_Your Mother_

Sakura carefully folded the letter closed and hid it in the novel that Naruto brought her. She couldn't process this right now. She just couldn't.

It was just all too much.

With every breath pain echoed through out her chest.

The smell of blood was under her nose.

The weight of a dead body pressed down her.

The eyes of a man she couldn't save burned in her mind.

Tears wet her cheeks before she knew she was crying.

And on top of everything Sakura was just so tired.

* * *

Raidô watched through a window as Kabuto left to get more medical supplies in the city. That shinobi was an odd one. In his time the special jônin met many genin destined to never rise through the ranks. But, Kabuto was obviously a very gifted medic. He was sure that if he applied through the proper channels the younger shinobi could at least achieve chunin level. Perhaps though he wanted to do it the old fashioned way. It really wasn't any of his business and he had a shit storm on his hands that needed dealing with.

Raidô sent a message to Konoha as soon as Naruto arrived and he learned the mission went sideways. Hatake might have already received word of his team's misfortune. Though the word misfortune wasn't really appropriate. He doubted chance had anything to do with what happened. He wasn't necessarily nervous for the higher ranking shinobi's return but in the little time he spent with Team 7 he knew some of the rumors regarding Hatake were far from the truth.

The man was as sharp as he was when he left ANBU if not sharper. If it turned out that someone orchestrated all of this they were going to be put down.

Shaking his head Raidô continued to shuffle through the mountain of mission requests and risk assessments that littered his desk. He wanted out of this assignment. The scarred shinobi was following his physical therapy regime religiously and his shoulder was doing much better. He had hope that he would be cleared again for something other than desk work when he returned to Konoha. A not so gentle knock at the door of the office brought the veteran shinobi's attention to the rather troublesome blonde that stood there.

"Uzumaki," he greeted. Naruto shuffled his feet, not meeting Raidô's eyes. "Is there something I can do for you?" To see the blonde away from Sakura's side was surprising. The Fourth's son was stuck like glue to his friend's bedside since he was given permission to be in the sick room.

The genin opened his mouth but shut it again when another knock sounded on the front door. Glancing up out the window he saw a familiar posse of bodyguards. He motioned Naruto to follow him out of the office and went to answer the call expecting to see a prisoner. He just hoped the boy could control himself.

"Ochida-san." Raidô's greeted, keeping his face blank at the elder man's appearance. From behind him Naruto curiously took in the traditionally dressed man.

"Shinobi-san, I know you weren't expecting me this morning. Frankly, I wasn't expecting to be here either but I have need to speak with you again." Radiô stepped aside allowing the elder to enter. The guards didn't move remembering the drill from yesterday's visit.

Wonder what about their discussion last night remained unclear Radiô gestured the man toward the office door. "We can speak in the office again. Please." Turning to Naruto he was about to ask that the blonde make himself scarce but was interrupted.

"I would like to request that the shinobi assigned to Tanabe's party be present at our discussion," Ochida added before making his way into the office.

Naruto stiffened at the name, recognizing it as belonging to the person responsible for the ambush on his team. "Who is the geezer?" the blonde asked with cheek.

"This geezer can still hear you!" Ochida called from inside the office.

The genin was about to make an angry retort but the look he got from Raidô silenced him. "That geezer," the special jônin began in a commanding whisper, "is the man who decides whether or not Konoha will continue to enjoy contracts from Takikawa. We will do what he asks." No matter how much we don't like it, he thought to himself. "Go get Uchiha."

Naruto made a face at the mention of his teammate. "He isn't talking to me."

"Tell him I will write him up for insubordination if he isn't here in 3 minutes," the elder shinobi commanded while resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Radiô knew that first combat could be traumatizing even without everything else Team 7 went through, but right now he needed professionals.

The son of the Fourth grumbled a bit but did as he was told. Raidô made sure his face was placid before he walked into the office. The village councilman's eyes were closed as he sat in one of the chairs. The veteran shinobi noticed that the man looked staggeringly less healthy than he had last night. It was such a noticible decline that the normally apathetic man felt the stirrings of pity.

Without opening his eyes the man spoke. "Tanabe is dead."

Raidô blinked in surprise, but didn't let the news make his mask of calm fall. "How did this come about?"

"Apparent suicide."

Was there anyway this situation could get messier? "I can assure you Konoha had nothing to do with this." For a moment Raidô wondered if Sasuke snuck out and did the deed but dismissed the idea.

Ochida finally made eye contact and sighed. "I know. Why would you kill him in his cell last night when you would have all the opportunity in the world today? But it does confirm something."

It was a relief to know that Takikawa would not be trying to pin this on Konoha, but Raidô had a terrible feeling that what was coming was not good news. "How are you so sure that Tanabe didn't kill himself?" he asked, back tracking to the previous topic.

"Tanabe was left handed, the knife which is a mystery in itself as he was searched before being put in the cell, was in his right hand. Not to mention the cut was made from left to right across his stomach." Even being a seasoned shinobi Raidô grimaced at that particular form of suicide. "Whoever killed him didn't know him well enough to use his left hand. Obviously they wanted him silenced before he could come into your custody."

There was a knock on the office door before the special jônin could respond. He knew who was on the other side of that door and for a second Raidô wanted to deny this man's request. He didn't want Naruto or Sasuke to come any closer to this, whatever it was. But the village, or money for the village came first. "Enter," he called. Two of his charges trudged into the room and Raidô truly would have given a month's pay to smack their heads together at the childish behavior. "These are two of the shinobi who were assigned to the mission. The third is currently unavailable." He sent Ochida a look, hoping that the other man would have the sense not to bring up Sakura.

"I know your kind start them young, but I have grandchildren older than these two." Both genin bristled but shut up quickly at the vicious scowl their current team leader sent them. "I wanted to speak to you both and apologize for the actions of my colleague-"

"That really isn't necess-," Raidô began but fell silent as the man raised a gnarled hand.

"It is, please, I am old, apologizing doesn't get easier with age. As I was saying I have come to apologize for the actions of my colleague and friend."

"That asshole was your friend?" Naruto asked tactlessly. Radiô simply closed his eyes knowing that this situation was far out of his control.

"At one time he was. We were both from the same mining town north of here." The man chuckled, obviously remembering times long past. "We were pretty inseparable, but things change." Ochida grimaced. "You think you know someone and then they go and betray everything you believe in." The grave statement paused the room for a moment. The old man sighed. "But that's not here or there. I know you won't be able to see him as such but he was a good man before. People do what they feel they must when they are desperate."

Sasuke made a scoffing noise and looked away. Naruto glanced at his teammate and seemed to agree with the sentiment but surprised Raidô by encouraging the elder to speak. "We're listening."

The elderly man gave an appreciative smile and continued. "His daughter is very ill. I now know that the treatment she requires is quite expensive and it has been bleeding him dry for some time now. The stubborn fool wouldn't ask for money. Not directly anyway. He was too proud. I think he tried once, but I, well, I didn't listen. Perhaps if I had..." Ochida let the sentence trail off. "We old fools are set in our ways and believe our age and experience make us wiser than all the young." He stood and shuffled to the door past the three shinobi. "But the truth is we aren't. Age doesn't make us infallible, just less likely to acknowledge our mistakes when we make them." Ochida turned before opening the door. "I'm sorry for what my friend did and the damage it has caused the relationship between our two cities. This whole situation is a right mess, and its clear that I am not the best choice to handle this situation." Raidô followed the elder out and made sure he made it back to his waiting guards. "I will send another representative over to finish the paperwork," Ochida called back.

Raidô watched the man and his guards leave the property before he closed the outpost door and turned to see both genin standing there. Sasuke's pale face was bland, but there was a tightness around his mouth that gave away his emotional distress. Naruto simply looked confused. "The guy who set up the whole thing is dead?" Raidô quickly explained the situation to the two genin. The blonde became more confused. "Why did the geezer apologize to us?"

Sighing Raidô speculated, "His friend betrayed this city, the city that they both spent he spent a majority of his life serving. He feels responsible for his friend's actions. I'm sure he's already been to or will go to speak to the families of the guards that were killed as well." The Fourth's son flinched at the mention of the guards. Deciding to change the subject Raidô rounded on Sasuke. "Uchiha have you visited Sakura yet?" The dark haired boy scowled at him. He took vindictive pleasure in his next action. "Go visit her, that is an order." Without saying anything the last Uchiha stalked off down the hallway. Naruto made to follow his teammate but was called back. "Just give them some space for now Uzumaki."

The young genin looked as if he wanted to argue but nodded heading down the hallway no doubt to just eavesdrop. Shaking his head Raidô moved back into the office to begin writing another missive to Konoha. It was obvious now that Team 7's ambush was no accident and far more than just some desperate man's plot for money. This was far out of his comfort zone. He was the simple sort that prefered a simple objective like kill the target. He really wished Hatake would come back.

As they say ask and ye shall receive.

* * *

Sasuke stepped into the near silent med room. He stopped only a foot from the door. He didn't want to be here. He knew Sakura was alive. That was enough for him. He didn't need to see her lying on the small bed under starch white sheets with tubes coming out of her arms. The teenager didn't understand why he was ordered to come here.

The antiseptic smell of the room stings his nose. It was worse than blood.

For a moment he wasn't in the room anymore. He was underneath the blazing sun with hands warm and slippery from fluid that belonged in his teammate's body.

The urge to gag was suddenly strong.

Sakura did not witness his inner turmoil, she was thankfully asleep.

Sasuke staggered backwards. He visited now he can leave.

"You're really just going to leave?" Sakura's voice cut through the silence.

Sasuke tried to make the awkward flailing of his body cease as green eyes opened. He was caught and there was nothing else to do but act like this was normal. The two teammates eyed one another. "And you don't say anything. What a surprise." Sasuke just blinked at her. He knew his lack of words irritated his teammates. It was a reason he chose to say so little. Making a noise of frustration Sakura rolled her eyes, picking up a book and acting as if she didn't want him in the room. They both knew she was a liar.

But the lack of talking suited Sasuke fine until he remembered a question he did need to ask. One could not communicate all things with pointed looks, shoulder shrugs and non-word vocalizations. "Did you mention anything to Namiashi about…" He let the sentence hang knowing that she would pick up what he was hinting at.

Sakura sighed. "Of course not."

Silence filled the room again.

Sasuke fidgeted. He knew what was expected of him in this moment and he wrestled with it. If he gave in they would expect more from him in the future. He wanted to ignore the part of himself that warmed at their expectations.

The seconds ticked passed.

Cursing both his teammates in his head he opened his mouth. "Thank you," he choked out.

Sakura's pink head tipped in his direction. "For what?" she asked.

Sasuke glared at her. She was doing this on purpose. A pink eyebrow rose expectantly. "For not saying anything and for… for intercepting that shinobi." He didn't say for saving his life. Because there was no way to know if the enemy would have killed him. There wasn't.

Sakura's brow furrowed at his answer. "You know you don't have to thank me for that right?" The dark haired genin blinked at her in confusion. "We're teammates Sasuke. We have each others backs and I'm sure Kakashi-sensei would want you to keep that to yourself for now. Naruto did the same didn't he?" Despite his current anger for the blonde Sasuke grudgingly admitted that Naruto had indeed left out that particular detail from his report. "We're teammates," she repeated. "Though it is really nice to hear you say thank you once in a while, being teammates means you don't have to."

Sasuke didn't get it. He didn't understand the easy way both Sakura and Naruto accepted him. He wasn't an idiot. He knew he was difficult to deal with and even sometimes tried to be on purpose. But every time he tried to push these two away they held on tighter. It made him feel like he was a part of something again, that he belonged.

"Sasuke?" Sakura's green eyes were clear and attentive. "You haven't been speaking to Naruto have you?" The dark haired genin frowned and opened his mouth to speak. "Don't! Just listen. You're angry right? With Naruto." Sasuke's eyes darkened. "He didn't tell me, but he didn't have to. What's going on?"

Turning away from his teammate, the male genin looked out the tiny window. Resentment rose in him, but not just for Naruto. "He wasn't there." Sakura tried to sit up, but winced at the fiery pain that shot through her torso. Sasuke came forward without thinking, helping her sit up. "Should you be moving?" he asked with concern that surprised the both of them.

Sakura weakly shoved him with a pained smile on her face. "I'm fine. Keep talking, I know how much you love it."

Dark eyes rolled at her teasing. "He wasn't there and you got hurt." Sakura got hurt because Naruto froze and he wasn't strong enough to stop it. Again, he wasn't enough. "I let you-"

"Shut up!" Sakura snapped. "I saved your ass." Her words were spoken through gritted teeth. "I saved you and I got stabbed and I nearly died. You don't get to make this about you. You don't get to take that away from me." Her face was pale and her whole body was shaking from holding herself upright. Sasuke stared down at her eyes that shone with pain, her sweat matted hair and her nearly sheet white face. "I stepped in-between you and the enemy because that is what I chose to do. Just like I chose to be kunoichi and I chose to be on this team." Exhausted Sakura let her body fall back and shot him a grateful look when he caught her and helped her back down. "I don't think I can keep nagging on this point Sasuke. We're a team. We're equals or we're not anything." Sakura eyes were bright with tears but she covered them with a hand before Sasuke saw whether or not they spilled down her cheeks.

Giving her space, he headed back over to the tiny window. He saw Naruto sitting outside picking at the grass.

Equals.

He mouthed the word, tasting it on his tongue without giving it a voice.

Equals.

Even through all their training he never quite considered either of them as his equals. He was an Uchiha. He was told from birth that he was better, that he was more. He had to be more. But right now all he wanted was to be equal. There was one problem though. How was he ever going to kill his brother if he was only equal to them?

Sasuke glared down at his hands and for a second he could still see Sakura's blood on them. He remembered the night they pledged their allegiance to Naruto if Kakashi's far fetched scenario ever came true. "Sakura," the dark haired genin called to his teammate. "Do you know how my clan died?" The question obviously threw her.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, um, it's public record."

Sasuke looked rather surprised at that.

"A lot of things are public record but very few people go looking for them." Sakura futzed with her book for a second. "I didn't go looking for it Sasuke, I swear."

He nodded, accepting what she said as the truth. "I need to find _him_ Sakura." The dark haired genin didn't voice his ambition to kill his brother. He didn't need to. "I'm on this team because it will help me get stronger so I can do that. If you hadn't jumped in front of that Kiri-nin there is a very good chance that I would be dead now." He knew she would connect the dots. His gratitude went far beyond just his life. If not for Sakura he would be dead and more importantly unable to avenge his family.

"Will you let us help you?" The question wasn't hesitant, but there was a shyness to her expression that caught him off guard. Sakura wasn't shy at least not anymore.

"Let us help you Sasuke," a familiar voice said from behind him. Naruto stepped into the room. The last Uchiha's expression soured as his other teammate entered the room. "Look," the blonde began, raising his hands in a placating gesture, "I know you're pissed at me right now. I'm pissed at me too. I froze. I fucked up, but I'm asking for another chance to prove I can be better."

The two boys stared at one another. Finally, Sasuke, who was really just making Naruto sweat because he could gave the smallest of nods. Sakura exhaled loudly. "Now that you two are done with your little pissing contest can we talk about more important things?"

Naruto flashed her a grin bouncing on the balls of his feet, all tension suddenly gone from the room. "Let me grab another chair." He was gone out the door before another word could be spoken.

"I have to be the one to finish it," Sasuke added, holding Sakura's eyes with his own, trying to convey just how much it mattered to him.

"Of course but we can help you get there."

He believed her words. It surprised him but he truly believed her words. Naruto charged back into, the room chair in his hands. The two boys got comfortable and Sakura's face slowly recovered some color.

"So," the only girl in the room started, "what have I missed?"

Her two teammates filled her in, well Naruto did most of the talking but Sasuke got in a few of his own observations.

Sakura's face twisted in a frown when she heard about Tanabe's death. Sasuke agreed with her. "It doesn't fit," he shared. Both his teammates looked towards him. "Those three Kiri-nin were chûnin at best. There is no way that Tanabe knew he was going to get three genin who hadn't even seen combat yet."

"A veteran genin team with a jônin was supposed to take this mission. Technically we shouldn't have even been sent out," Sakura chipped in. "It went completely against protocol. Raidô-san was between a rock and a hard place when he chose to give it to us."

"He either canceled on the first contract we got from the city itself, damaging the relationship between Konoha and Takikawa or put us in the field," Naruto elaborated, nodding to himself. "Not a decision I would want to make."

"Exactly. It's the perfect storm of events. Events that Tanabe had no way of knowing or even creating," Sasuke concluded.

"Shit," Naruto cursed. "You both realize what this means?"

Sasuke's face darkened as he saw Naruto's point. "It had to be someone from Konoha."

Sakura grimaced. "Remember what Kakashi-sensei told us before he left."

"Son of a bitch," the blonde growled.

"Naruto we don't know anything for sure yet," Sakura said, trying to calm the clearly furious boy.

"It has to be someone in Konoha, or even several people. They had to ensure that the other team got their arrival date mixed up," Sasuke continued analyzing the situation, "which means someone in the mission office."

"Plus someone to shut Tanabe up before he could lead us back to them," Naruto threw out before he stood and began pacing.

Sakura pursed her lips. "But the real question here isn't who, it's why. Why send us on this mission? What do they want?"

Sasuke chewed on the questions. What indeed? It couldn't be just their deaths. Even he or Naruto were the targets, both of them were far more valuable alive than dead. Plus there were much easier ways to kill people than this complicated plot full of chances to go wrong. A possible answer came to him in the voice that haunted his dreams. "A test."

Naruto paused in his steps. "What?"

"It was a test."

Sakura sucked in a breath. "That makes sense." The pink haired girl paused, thinking through everything they knew. "Kakashi-sensei told us there are people in Konoha interested in this team. Either you or Naruto were the target, maybe even both of you."

"I don't think it was me," Naruto stated firmly. "I was the most isolated out of the three of us. If they wanted to fight me or even kidnap me they could have done it."

"They went for Sasuke," Sakura declared.

The three let the answer settle in their minds. Sasuke shifted in his chair. Someone was out to get him and he knew without a doubt it wasn't Itachi. If Itachi wanted him, he would come himself. "This must be about the sharingan."

"Only we know you've awakened it right?" Sakura asked.

He nodded in response. "Not even Namiashi should know."

Naruto's golden brow furrowed. "Should we tell him what we think is going on? Kakashi said we could trust him."

Sasuke shook his head. "This stays between us until Kakashi returns. We can't take the risk it will be passed on."

"You two realize this is crazy right?" Naruto crashed back into his seat. "I mean attacking me is one thing. Attacking Sasuke!" He let his words hang. "Our own village… This is so fucked up."

Though Sasuke wouldn't express his own feelings so…passionately, he agreed with Naruto. This was fucked up.

"We're only genin what do we do?" Sakura whispered.

"We keep our heads down and until Kakashi returns we keep going like everything is normal." .

Naruto shook his head. "But things aren't normal. I mean even without the whole someone in Konoha set us up to be ambushed. We were attacked. We saw-" His voice shook slightly but his jaw firmed and he continued. "We saw people die. And you guys…"

Sasuke blinked. It wasn't as though he forgot he killed someone. It was just that it seemed so long ago already. Even immediately after he killed the Kiri-nin there was not even a second spent on contemplating her death. Sakura took priority over everything else and now…now he wondered if killing was always this easy. Was it easy for him? Did he remember that night every time he closed his eyes like Sasuke did? Shaking his dark head the genin bit his inner lip dragging his mind away from oblivion.

He looked at Sakura beside him resting against her pillows. Her face was oddly blank. A lot might have changed about the pink haired girl since they had been assigned to Team 7 but at least one thing remained the same. Sakura wore her heart on her sleeve, at least in front of her teammates. But now her face was closed off.

The tension in the room died when they felt another presence approach and shortly after there was a knock at the door before it opened. "Oh, hello there." Sasuke recognized the medic-nin who was treating Sakura. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked stepping farthing into the room with a stack of books in the room.

"No, not at all," Naruto said, managing far more cheer than even Sasuke thought he was capable of in that moment. "You need to check up on Sakura right? Don't let us keep you. Me and the asshole should check in with the Captain anyway."

The blonde cleared out of the way for the other Konoha shinobi but Sasuke stood still for a moment. If all of it was set up by someone working from Konoha they still needed to kill Tanabe. He knew the rest of the other genin team left early that morning for a mission but the medic stayed behind. Glancing at Sakura he saw her tense as if she just came to the same conclusion.

"I'll stay a little while longer." Sasuke gave no other explanation but thankfully Naruto only shot him a confused look.

"I brought some of the reading material you requested Haruno-san," Kabuto said as he placed several heavy looking books on the table next to Sakura's bed. He went about replacing the empty IV with another bag of clear fluid. "Oh and your team leader has returned."

Relief spread like honey through his body and Sasuke felt his shoulders fall slightly. He noticed Sakura's whole body go slightly limp and her eyes close at the news. Kabuto continued to check on his patient as Sakura addressed him. "You can go and see him Sasuke." He read between the lines, "_He won't try anything while Kakashi is here."_

Still feeling he should stay, Sasuke nodded toward his teammate and left the room. If Kakashi gave them more cryptic words instead of answers he was going to figure out a way to hurt him.

* * *

"Naruto."

The blonde genin jumped about a foot in the air and cursed a blue streak in the hallway of the outpost. "Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto stared up at him in disbelief. "You're here?"

The silver haired shinobi tilted his head and gave an eye crinkle. "Did you miss me?" Afterwards Kakashi would rationalize not seeing the move coming due to exhaustion, all kinds. Naruto's body collided with his own and the force actually caused him to rock back on his heels. He was really tired.

He looked down at the fluffy blonde head currently pressing against his abdomen in shock. Was this real? Before he even had the chance to react to the embrace Minato's son leapt back blushing a scarlet that rivaled his mother.

Footsteps sounded and his other male student rounded the corner. Sasuke paused in his tracks and mutely nodded a greeting. It was far from Naruto's enthusiastic welcome but the lines in his pale face eased showing he was glad to see his teacher too.

Naruto reached up, scratching the back of his head and furiously fighting down the flush that still heated his cheeks. Taking pity on his most enthusiastic student Kakashi dismissed him. "Naruto I need to speak with Sasuke alone. I will speak with you and Sakura as well so don't go far." The still red genin looked relieved he was given an out and quickly escaped. "Let's go for a walk."

Student and teacher moved side by side as Sasuke shared what happened in the last few days. Well, he didn't really share. Kakashi asked leading questions that Sasuke barely answered. The jônin wasn't too perturbed, he already knew what happened. Tenzô got the mission report to him through Pakkun.

He knew his team would eventually see combat. He knew they would would eventually be hurt. And he knew they would eventually take life. It was inevitable in the life of a shinobi for these things to happen. But he thought he would at least be there with them when it happened. Someone in Konoha not only set up his team to attacked, they also made sure that Kakashi would not be there.

Sharingan no Kakashi was beyond angry.

If he was the sadistic type he would want whoever was responsible to suffer greatly, preferably by his own hand before being ended permanently. But despite rumors to the contrary he was not sadistic. He didn't take pleasure in the pain of others. He didn't want this person or group of people to hurt.

He wanted them erased.

But right now he needed to focus on his team. He needed to make sure this experience didn't unhinge any of them. The jônin didn't believe it had but it was his responsibility to make sure.

"So you and Sakura got your first kills." A flicker of something passed over Sasuke's face. "I can't make you talk about it." Well, he could but that wouldn't help things. "But you know I have to deem you mentally fit before you return to active duty. Is there anything I need to know?"

They stopped walking. Kakashi kept his student's face in his periphery. Sasuke was good at keeping his face passive or at least firmly in an expression of vague annoyance. But he was still just thirteen years old. There was worry there.

"Is it always so easy?" The question was barely audible.

Kakashi was relieved this was something he could address. "No. It isn't. You killed in the heat of battle. There was no choice in your actions." Sasuke's dark head bobbed in understanding. The two turned back towards the outpost. "It's different when you choose to kill."

Something in Kakashi unwound as the noises of the city ahead of them filtered back into earshot. Out of all of Team 7 Kakashi expected the worst reaction to bloodshed from Sasuke given the horror he witnessed his past.

"I'm not like_ him_." The words were said firmly without any explanation to their meaning. But then it didn't take a genius, which Kakashi was, to know who Sasuke was talking about.

Well, fuck. The silver haired shinobi wished more than anything not to have to deal with this. Thankfully Sasuke spoke again radically changing the topic.

"I awakened the sharingan."

It wasn't surprising as combat was the most common way that the Uchiha awakened their bloodline limit. "You kept it out of the reports," Kakashi observed. His tricky little team must have also kept it secret from Namiashi as the special jônin didn't mention anything of the sort. His lips twitched up in pride. "Nice work," he praised, catching Sasuke's smirk from the corner of his eye as they arrived at the garden wall.

"I need to speak to Sakura and Naruto. We'll discuss our current situation later." It was a dismissal and Sasuke heeded it without question.

Kakashi sensed Naruto was around the back of the building so he made his way with a bone weary sigh. He would really love to just sleep for a week.

Naruto was sitting on the short retaining wall which kept land from spilling into the canal that ran behind the outpost. Taking a seat next to his student Kakashi blew out an exaggerated sigh.

"I really messed up sensei." The blonde let out a watery chuckle. "All that talk about not letting my teammates die and what do I do?"

"I wasn't there either," the elder shinobi pointed out.

The jônin felt his student turn to face him so he did the same. "That's not your fault sensei."

"It's not?" he asked.

Anger heated Naruto's face. "You were away on another mission. You couldn't help it. I was supposed to be there."

"Do you think that matters to me?"

"What?"

Kakashi dropped his facade of calm and let the blonde see the fury that was just beneath the surface. "Do you think it matters to me that I was on another mission? Do you think that I don't feel just as guilty as you. You are my team. I wasn't there when you needed me the most. I have already lost one team. All of them dead. Circumstances change but the feeling doesn't."

Blue eyes widened at the vulnerability in Kakashi's words. Kakashi knew he was letting Naruto see more of him than he would like he knew better than most guilt could destroy a person.

"We're still here," Naruto said softly, managing a small smile.

Kakashi felt his face soften. "Yes you are."

The rest of their conversation was lighter. Naruto asked after Kakashi's mission, which the jônin didn't share was a diversion to get him away from his team. That little nugget was for later when he had them altogether. Neither one of them mentioned the spontaneous hug which they were both grateful for. As the sun began to set Kakashi took it as time to see to his final student.

Kakashi instructed Naruto to pass on plans for their later meeting to Sasuke before making his way to the outpost med room.

Upon arriving he dropped himself into the chair by Sakura's bed. She was dozing until he sat down but held onto the facade of sleep. Kakashi's lips twitched slightly beneath his mask. "I know you're happy to see me Sakura-chan."

An answering smile formed on her face. "I haven't seen you yet sensei."

The response caused the masked man to chuckle softly. He really missed his kids and Sakura a bit more than the other two. "I've already spoken to Naruto and Sasuke." His only female student's slightly larger than average forehead creased. "I only went over what happened with them in my absence. We left the speculating for later tonight." He lifted one of the books on the side table up and read the title. "Cellular Biology?" He raised an eyebrow at Sakura who shrugged as best she could while lying down.

"I thought I would look into iryô-ninjutsu."

That made a startling amount of sense. Sakura's chakra control would lend itself well to the discipline and given she could actually sit still and focus on one thing for a prolonged period of time, which wasn't something he could say about either of her teammates, iryô-ninjutsu was rather perfect. He felt a little embarrassed he didn't suggest she take a look at it before now. "Not a bad idea."

"It would take a lot of time away from my other training," she said, looking concerned.

Kakashi shot her an eye crinkle. "Oh you won't be skipping out on any training to study iryô-ninjutsu once you have recovered. You will have to use your free time."

"What free time?" she asked incredulously.

Her teacher merely kept up his cheerful expression as she moaned in dread. "We do need to discuss what happened on the mission Sakura." He watched her tense slightly.

"You want to know if I'm okay after killing two people."

Kakashi wasn't surprised that she cut to the chase. Unlike Sasuke she tended to face things head on rather than staying in her head.

His pink haired student looked up towards the ceiling. "I ended two people's lives. They had families, friends, people who cared about them, people who will miss them. I should feel something."

"Are you saying you don't?" It was not the reaction he expected.

"I killed the first Kiri-nin without even thinking about it. He attacked me and I reacted. The second already stabbed me when I returned the favor. All I was concerned about was he was going for Sasuke's back and Naruto might have already been killed for all I knew."

"And now that you've had time to process?"

His student didn't answer immediately. "I don't feel guilt over their deaths. But it scares me."

"Not feeling guilt," he assumed.

"Shouldn't I feel guilty?" Sakura's green eyes looked up at his lone visible eye seeking answers.

Kakashi studied her worried expression. Sakura was raised as a civilian. She grew up with different morals that even the Academy could not erase. She knew she did what she had to but she was having trouble reconciling that with her upbringing.

"You were protecting your teammates and yourself from a threat."

"But I didn't save Kaito," her voice broke slightly and she turned away from him. Kakashi recognized the name of one of the civilian guards. "He had a family. So did Bo-san."

"Sakura," he called gently. "I won't try to placate you. I cannot make you see your actions in any other way than you do. This is part of being shinobi. Enemies die by your hand and friends die standing beside you." It was a truth that sometimes took the death of more than one friend to come to terms with.

Sakura nodded, rubbing at her eyes. "I'm going to be okay sensei."

Kakashi smiled at her, a true genuine smile underneath his ever present mask. He knew that. His team was strong. They had to be.

* * *

Team 7 reunited in the med room late that night. Naruto couldn't help but smile. It was like coming home, having everyone together again. Sakura was propped up against a bunch of pillows with a bowl of rice porridge only half eaten in her lap. He wished she would eat more but couldn't blame her for not wanting that goop. He was sitting cross legged at the end of her bed with Kakashi and Sasuke in chairs to one side.

"I think you have all figured out that the trouble you faced on your mission was no accident," Kakashi began killing the light hearted mood in the room.

Sakura set her bowl on the side table. "The Kiri-nin were only chûnin we think. Tanabe should have known that three chûnin stand little chance against a jônin and an experienced genin team. But he didn't get what he requested. He got three untested genin, which would have been perfect."

Naruto picked up the thread. "Then there's his suicide which according to the old councilman who was his friend is more than a bit fishy."

"Two of the Kiri-nin targeted me. My hands were full with one of them and instead of attacking the civilians and trying to loot the cash we were traveling with the other one went for my back." Sasuke glanced at Sakura. "The woman I was fighting was toying with me. She wasn't trying to kill me."

Kakashi nodded. "So you three think Sasuke was the target?"

"Yes, which is why we need to know everything about these people who are interested in our team," Sakura demanded. "We can't know who we can trust if we are ignorant."

"You're right," their teacher sighed. "First there are three key figures that you need to know about, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu and Shimura Danzô."

Naruto furrowed his brow at the familiar names. "Those first two are the Hokage's advisors."

"Correct. Mitokado and Utatane are politicians. They use their influence with the Hokage to make deals that benefit their supporters."

The blonde genin wrinkled his nose in distaste. He knew the two old bats from his days hanging around the Hokage's office. The third he didn't have any recollection of.

"They have a vested interest in keeping an eye on the team because the Village Council which is a combination of both prominent civilians and shinobi were adamantly against Naruto becoming shinobi."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "That isn't news to me sensei." He knew the Council hated him. They could all go and suck a bag of dicks as far as he was concerned. Hokage's word was law. The Council took care of more mundane issues and they were all a bunch of jumped up assholes as far as he was concerned.

Kakashi gave him a look for his interruption. "Like I said they are politicians. Shimura Danzô is much, much more. He used to be a an official advisor like the other two."

"Used to be?" Sakura asked.

"He was removed by the Third Hokage and before you ask I do not know the exact reason why but I can tell you that Danzô is very dangerous."

Naruto shot Sasuke a worried glance. Kakashi's face was grave and his voice was the furthest thing from aloof. "Why would he be interested in Sasuke?"

The jônin rubbed a hand through his unruly hair. "I don't know everything but the he has always been interested in the affairs of the Uchiha. Your clan was powerful Sasuke. They made up the Konoha police force and a sizable chunk of the shinobi core. The sharingan is a powerful tool and you are the only one left in the village with natural access to it."

The three genin mulled over the information.

"So you think Danzô was behind the attack?" Sasuke questioned.

"Perhaps, he would definitely have the pull necessary to send me away and leave you three vulnerable."

Naruto's head shot up from resting on a fist. "But what's his end game? Why set all this up?"

"I wish I had answers for you."

The blonde let out a groan of frustration, ignoring the look Sakura sent him he hopped off the bed and began to pace. It was just so irritating. Kakashi returned and they thought they would get some kind of answer as to what was going on but they were left with more questions.

"What do we do about this?"

"And what happens when we get back to Konoha?"

"Should we got to the Hokage?"

"Will this happen again?"

The three students shot the questions one after the other at their teacher. Kakashi held up a hand to stem the flow. "I do not think Danzô will make a move inside the walls of the village. A friend is keeping me updated from within the village. I will write something for him to give to the Hokage. But without evidence there is very little that the Hokage will do."

"This asshole set us up to be attacked! Sakura nearly died! Why won't the Third do something?" Naruto cried, tugging at his hair.

"Where's the proof?" Kakashi asked cooly. "Danzô may not even be behind this. All we have are some half baked theories. Means does not mean motive and neither one of them make guilt necessarily."

Biting back the urge to hit something Naruto tried to understand what his teacher was saying. "Our team was attacked Kakashi-sensei. And our best bet is that someone from Konoha made it happen. Our village. Our home-" his voice cracked and he looked away from his team as the pain of old wounds ripped open. Blinking back tears he tried not to drown in the bitterness of his current thoughts.

"You can be angry Naruto," Sakura said softly.

"I am angry Sakura."

"You aren't alone." Naruto's head shot up to meet Sasuke's gaze and the blonde could see the dark eyes were tinged with red. Tearing his eyes away from his teammate he looked at Kakashi. "What do we do?"

The man's sole grey eye observed him before responding. "Why do anything?"

Naruto snarled making Sakura flinch and Sasuke's eyes widen in surprise. "I don't have the patience for your fucking mind games."

"Why not just leave? You as well Sasuke, what is keeping you in Konoha?"

"It's our home," Naruto growled.

It was their home.

Konohagakure was home.

It was sunsets spent on the Hokage monument with Iruka-sensei and Ichiraku Ramen and the old man who told him stories instead of doing paperwork and his neighbor who gave him his first gift and Sasuke and Sakura and even the bastard in front of him who was really pissing him off right now. It was also random strangers heckling him and not selling him decent goods and shooing him out of shops and whispers wherever he went.

It wasn't perfect but it was his.

It was his.

"My clan helped found Konoha. Their blood is in the ground itself. I will not leave." Sasuke declared. Sakura nodded in support of her two teammates.

Kakashi looked between his three students before nodding. "Well we have our work cut out for us don't we."

If Naruto hadn't been so worked up at that point he would have got the same feeling of foreboding as Sasuke and Sakura. Instead he asked, "Where do we start?"

* * *

The rest of the time Team 7 spent at the outpost was eventful to say the least. After the disaster mission as they liked to call it business picked up. They said goodbye to Raidô, not before Sasuke got the chance to learn the fundamentals of kenjutsu.

_"Why did you never ask me to teach you that Sasuke-kun?_" _Kakashi pouted._

The spontaneous tutorship inspired the idea that anyone who passed through the outpost should be manipulated into teaching a skill or two to at least one genin member of Team 7.

_"You think he's foisting us off on other people out of laziness?" Naruto asked Sakura._

_"Duh," the pink haired girl replied._

Kakashi made sure his ducklings didn't go asking help from the wrong people of course.

_"But Anko-chan seems really cool sensei!" Naruto protested._

They also found it necessary to lay down some ground rules when testing out their new techniques.

#1. Naruto is never to experiment with fuinjutsu without supervision.

_"So explain to me again how you managed to melt our entire arsenal of kunai and shuriken."_

_"It was supposed to sharpen them!"_

_#_2\. Naruto is never to experiment with any sort of jutsu without supervision.

_#3_. Sasuke is not allowed to play with Sakura's chemistry set.

_"Does it smell like almonds in here?"_

_"I don't smell anything."_

_Thunk._

#4. Dissection materials and,or other experiments don't belong in the fridge.

_"Has anyone seen shipment of fetal pigs I ordered. I put them in here somewhere," Sakura asked while rifling through the fridge._

_Naruto looked down at the soup he was making. "Huh."_

#5. Sasuke cooks.

#6. Always check that Kakashi has his wallet with him before going out to eat. Or better yet steal it before hand.

_"This is the third fucking time in a row he's doing it on purpose!" Sasuke hissed as Naruto cried over how empty Gama-chan was._

#7. Don't cause an injury just because you need practice. Sakura.

_"What is that?"_

_"Sulfuric acid."_

_"What are you goi- fucking-shit-damnit OWWW What the fuck Sakura?!"_

#8. Clones are not to be sent on missions because you are hungover. They are just as hungover.

#9. Don't bother Pakkun with your nonsense. He ain't got time for your shit.

_"So do you think I should talk to he-" CHOMP "God damnit Pakkun!"_

And most importantly but not the last rule by a long shot.

#10. Trying to see what is under Kakashi's mask is futile. Continuing to try will be detrimental to your physical and mental health.

_"Ohhhh shinobi-san! How big you are!" _

_"Why the fuck did we think following him to the bath house was a good idea!" Naruto cried as Sasuke furiously scrubbed at his eyes._

But as all things do their time at the outpost came to a close. At the end of summer Team 7 was given the news that they would be returning home after completing one more mission.

"You're the brats that are supposed to protect me? Might as well start digging my own grave!" The severely intoxicated man tipped over after expressing his doubts.

Naruto shared unimpressed looks with his teammates. "Somehow I get the sense that this mission isn't going to go smoothly."

* * *

A/N: This story isn't abandoned I promise. Sweet heaven this was a difficult chapter to write and I don't know if I did the emotional threads justice. I took a really long break from this because though I have plans for the future chapters I was having trouble getting from A to B. I decided instead of detailing their final month at the outpost in another chapter I did the list thing and have flashbacks in future chapters. I would rather do this than draw out the time at the outpost anymore. It was fun, but it's time to move on.

So I made some changes. Konoha council was actually from my understanding just Homaru, Koharu and Danzo, but I made them just advisors to the Hokage while there also is a Village Council that will be further explained in coming chapters.

My goal is two weeks for the next chapter, which is ambitious considering my history.

Thank you to everyone who follows this story and especially to those who comment. I apologize if this update is a little rough. I haven't combed through it and smoothed it out like I usually do but it has taken me so long to finish it to some level of satisfaction that I felt I needed to post it and come back and edit in a day or so. Let me know what you think.

Enbi: Thank you so much for sticking with it and being a frequent reviewer!

Illucida: Thanks for the well wishes. I'm still trying to find my feet but doing better these days.

Tsia2002: You are right about the clones. The truth is I kind of forgot. I set up early that Kakashi didn't want them overusing ninjutsu and I just kind of forgot Naruto's signature move. He will use them in the future once he sees some combat.

David12leca: Thank you. I hope this chapter keeps up with the rest of the story in your opinion. I try really hard to maintain some reality in my characters which is what I think canon lacks at times. I do enjoy a dark look at a character once in a while but its no fun to stay there too long.


	8. Chapter 8 Rust on the Boat

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 8: Rust on the Boat

* * *

Sasuke was day dreaming.

About tomatoes.

Big, ripe and juicy.

They would be warmed by the sun. Their flesh would be firm but would give under this teeth.

Perfection.

It wasn't that the quality of produce in Takikawa was lacking. But Sasuke yearned for the bounty of the Uchiha gardens he frequented when he was a child.

The gardens were a cooperative effort between many of the non-kunoichi women or those who already retired from the life. His mother, though she never worked on them herself, would often take him with her when she went to chat with the her fellow clanswomen. And as most little boys he was delighted to see just how dirty he could become before it was time to leave. He had many fond memories of sinking his fingers and toes into the rich black earth. A visit was never complete without a sampling of the produce either.

The others were more than a little surprised when Sasuke decided to make his own garden. It was a real tragedy though after all of his hard work, breaking up the virgin earth of the outpost grounds, tilling, planting and cultivating he wouldn't get one taste of what his labor wrought.

He almost didn't want to return to Konoha. It was a sentiment he knew was shared by the others but they agreed it was time to leave. They could have at least waited till his pineapple tomatoes, a variety he never had the pleasure of eating but heard were excellent were ready. The chunin couple that arrived to take over the running of the outpost promised to keep up his garden. It was a nice gesture but Sasuke was jealously spiteful towards them. They were going to eat his tomatoes.

Naruto settled next to him in the tree. "You're moping about that damn garden again aren't ya?"

Ignoring the comment, Sasuke gave his partner in crime a dull look. Anger at his lack of attention bit at his pride. It was growing harder and harder to keep focused. Though Sasuke would never admit it this mission was tiring and the strain was beginning to become too much. "You're late. Your half of the blast tags set?" he asked, digging in his heels and trying to find a spurt of energy.

"Ready to go," the blonde confirmed with a childish grin on his face. "I also got Sakura a present." He held up a small pouch.

Sasuke's pale lips pulled into a smirk. "What a coincidence." The black haired genin lifted up his own gift for their devious teammate.

Naruto snorted. "She's gonna be happier than a pig in shit."

The older genin rolled his eyes at the crass words. "You've been spending far too much time with Mitarashi." They both rose from their crouched positions, turning back towards their current lodgings.

"Hey, I only get to see her when she happens to stop by."

Sasuke snorted to drown out the groan wanted to spring forth as they broke into a steady run through the trees. "And your letter writing hobby?"

Blue eyes rolled as Naruto pulled out the detonator tag and activated with little effort. "We're pen pals so what? She has a wicked sense of humor." Neither shinobi batted an eye lash as an explosion ripped through the night air behind them.

"Exactly, why would she enjoy your company?" The sharingan user ducked under the half hearted swipe the comment earned. The two traded insults as they ran, stopping short of their destination to put their disguises back on. Soon after they slipped back into the headquarters of the Gatô Company to seek out their third just as the sun began to set.

The building, which they infiltrated by posing as thugs for hire only a week ago was a massive hive of criminal activity. It was extremely convenient that Gatô kept his employees close.

While they weren't laboring away loading ships with drugs, stolen goods and some legitimate merchandise and harassing the rest of the population of the tiny country, most of Gatô's unskilled men spent their time getting drunk or high, sometimes both and gambling away their earnings.

The two covert shinobi found Sakura amongst the chaos that their explosion threw the gangsters unoccupied with other duties into.

"There must have been an accident at the lab! All hands on deck. We must salvage what we can and get the injured men out!"

The call to arms did little to rouse those in a drunken stupor, but a majority of the men did manage to find their feet and file out of the main mess hall. In the confusion and bustle Sasuke made contact with a pair of sky blue eyes and silently communicated. Nudging Naruto beside him the two slipped out to an empty hallway, taking a few turns they found themselves in the deserted kitchen.

Sneering at the abysmal state of the room Sasuke settled into a clean chair, while his teammate hopped up on a nearby counter. A hard faced woman with pastel blue hair and arms covered in tattoos entered the room. "Nice work boys," she complimented. "But we have some company."

Sasuke frowned as Sakura informed them of the shinobi she observed while they were out and about. "The older one was in Kakashi's Bingo Book, name Momochi Zabuza. He's a missing-nin from Kirigakure and a former member of the Swordsmen of the Mist."

Slightly interested to find out their new adversary was a kenjutsu specialist Sasuke raised a dark brow. "Rank?" Sasuke questioned.

"Jônin, beyond what we're capable of dealing with. Carries this massive sword," she added with a hint of disdain at such a flamboyant weapon. Her snobbery amused both her teammates. "The younger is a mystery, no mention of… him." Her hesitation caught both boys' attention. She shrugged at their twin looks. "I'm not entirely sure if the younger is male or female, good looking, pale, dark eyes and long hair," she described.

Naruto chuckled. "Did they notice you?"

Sakura shook her currently pale aqua head. "No, I was too far away and as if they would notice me."

Sasuke rolled his eyes but knew she wasn't being arrogant or overconfident. Her innate ability to suppress and mask her chakra signature nearly rivaled Kakashi's. It made her the ideal candidate to get closer to those higher up in the company. A position she found herself in often during the past week. The drug lab was the third major target they hit in their plan to make things very difficult for Gatô and ultimately sink his company into complete disorder.

"Do we need to retreat? Kakashi will be here soon with the drunk. I don't think we should risk it with a jônin and an unknown hanging around," Naruto said, voicing the concern that Sasuke was also feeling.

Their female teammate nodded in agreement. "We should leave tonight. There was a lot of confusion. You two were supposed to be picking up a load tonight so everyone will assume you died in the chemical explosion. Even if I'm missed they at least won't connect me with the two of you and think of us as a group of three." Naruto leg fidgeted and something crossed his face for a moment, but it was gone the next second so the black haired genin dismissed the behavior.

Sasuke, himself had not considered Sakura's point but it was important that they not be connected. Three was the most common number of shinobi on a chunin team. It wouldn't do that the misfortunes that the Gatô Company suffered recently be thought of than anything other than that.

"Right," Naruto said as he jumped off the counter. He held up his small package to Sakura and jerked his head at Sasuke who produced his own small pouch. "Got you a little something before it all went up in smoke." The girl's lips twitched as she took her presents. "I'll see you two later. There was a cute waitress at that ramen bar in the village. I'd love to introduce her to my actual self." The normally blonde haired preteen left the room with a jaunty waive.

Pain stabbed through Sasuke's head suddenly and_ she_ was there, bloody and broken before him for a split second. He couldn't stop his hand from flying to his eyes or the gasp from escaping his mouth. Sakura was there in an instant with cool hands. Sasuke gritted his teeth and gently pushed her away. The sharp pain continued to throb through his head.

"It's happening again."

"Don't, it's nothing," he tried, knowing it wouldn't do any good. With the imaginary, coppery tang of blood in his nostrils he rose to his feet, willing his knees to hold firm. He was too tired for this and for her mother hen routine. "Now are you going to use that before we get out of here?" he asked trying to distract her with one of her favorite hobbies.

Sakura smiled in a way that made Sasuke almost wish he left with Naruto. "Oh yes," she purred drawing out the 's'. "I know just what to do with my present." The dark haired genin didn't feel the least bit sorry for Gatô. Not at all.

The man was scum. He used money to corrupt the very institutions that were meant to keep him in check and violence to keep the law abiding citizens of Nami no Kuni terrified. His legitimate business was a smoke screen, a very thin smoke screen for his much more profitable criminal business.

Another streak of pain ran though his head and he had to reach out a hand to steady himself. Sakura paused, her concern returning. "Can you get this done on your own? I need to eat."

He didn't want to leave her alone to carry out this task but knew he wouldn't be of any help. She waved him off and disappeared down the hallway. Sighing in relief Sasuke rested his head against the wall for a moment. He needed to keep it together for a little while longer.

* * *

Naruto plopped himself down on a stool and sent the girl working a charming smile. "Hi! Can I get a bowl of your special, spicy please."

The brunette sent him a small smile in return. "Sure, can I get you something to drink?"

"Just a beer, whatever is cheapest," he requested sending her another smile with teeth. The girl didn't even bat an eyelash at his order.

"We only have cans," she warned with one in hand.

"That's fine and I don't need a glass."

She set the beer in front of him and he cracked it with one hand as she turned to give his order to the cook. He was about to make conversation when someone took the seat next to him.

Blue eyes turned to glare at the person who skipped common social curtesy and took the stool adjacent to his own rather than one of the several empty stools at the bar which were no one was sitting beside.

A flush crept up into his cheeks and his eyes lost their anger when he saw the pretty face of his new neighbor. A very pale pretty face framed with long dark locks. Hopefully his blush was covering his sudden panic.

He totally got what Sakura meant now about not being able to tell if this was a guy or girl. But, whatever because he or she was so damn gorgeous. "Um, you, I, well… I mean, hello."

His neighbor smiled and Naruto felt his cheeks redden more. Seriously, looking that charming should be illegal. "Hello, I hope you don't mind me joining you, I'm afraid I don't know anyone here. Is this place good?"

It could be a coincidence, but it was a damn inconvenient one. Naruto scratched at the bandana that held back his shaggy blonde hair. "Yeah it's decent enough." The waitress who returned to take the order of the new customer made a noise at his assessment of her place of work. "Sorry, miss, I'm just really attached to a place in my home town. You understand right?"

The young woman rolled her eyes but offered up an understanding grin. "What can I get you?" she asked his new dinner partner. She was blushing slightly as well but seemed to be holding her own in the face of utter perfection.

"Whatever he is having and some oolong tea please," the yet unnamed shinobi requested.

Naruto's eyes slid up and down the enemy's form. Clothes were loose and gave no hint towards gender and were perfect for hiding a multitude of weapons. Feeling that there was nothing left to do but talk, Naruto took a sip of his drink, which wasn't great and smiled. "You on a crew?"

Dark brows furrowed slightly. "A crew?"

The genin nodded. "Yeah, that's what I'm in town for. My cargo ship's been hired." It was a good story. Using genjutsu and a simple water ninjutsu that created mist he and Sasuke caused two of Gatô's largest vessels to crash into each other not far off the coast. The ships sunk along with all the goods and the men were left to report nothing but fog and a mistake caused the unfortunate incident. Gatô's right hand was forced to outsource some of the transport of his merchandise. It didn't help that a majority of his smaller ships were somehow all turning up problems that needed to be repaired before they were seaworthy. "We're loading the next day or so and then setting sail!"

"Do you enjoy sailing?" she asked.

Naruto decided that this was a girl until he learned otherwise and nodded enthusiastically. It wasn't even a lie. He had the opportunity to sail on a mission recently and there was nothing else like the vast openness of the sea or the constantly blowing salty wind. "Love it. Wouldn't want to do anything else. All I need to be happy is a boat and the ocean!" It was a half truth really. Being a shinobi would always come first but he knew now how he would be spending his vacations and retirement.

If he made it till at least forty his pension would be more than enough to cover a sailboat with enough room for him and a lucky lady to explore the seas together. That was his fantasy anyway.

The waitress placed two steaming bowls in front of the customers and Naruto voiced his thanks before digging in. His dining partner also began to eat with more manners and less gusto. Taking a risk the Konoha shinobi spoke again. "So if you aren't part of a shipping crew what brings you to this island?"

The girl finished chewing before answering his question. "I'm here to help someone very precious to me achieve his dream."

Naruto blinked at the odd words, not sure how to respond to such a blunt, honest and yet vague answer. So this chick was into Momochi apparently, he concluded. "That's nice," he tried, sounding lame even in his own head. He busied himself with his ramen as he considered the situation. The girl wasn't being aggressive at all towards him and had yet to even hint that she might know who he actually was. Deciding to take the gamble for more information he spoke again. "Your friend is really lucky to have you."

His dark haired neighbor who was about to take another bite but paused. "You're wrong," she objected setting down her eating utensils. There was a strength in her voice now and Naruto saw a hard edge in her previously soft expression. "I am the lucky one." There was a silence after this pronouncement and just when he thought the conversation was over and he could eat his ramen and drink his beer in peace she began to speak. "Perhaps you cannot understand. Is there no one precious to you?"

He blinked at the question. Well of course he had people that were precious to him. Didn't everyone? But that wasn't always the case. He wasn't always a member of Team 7 and Iruka-sensei wasn't always his teacher. When he was younger he didn't really have anyone.

"I can see from your face that you do." A serene smile bloomed across the girl's face. "My precious person gave me my purpose. Without him I would be lost."

Naruto's ramen was gone and he wasn't sure if he was up for continuing…whatever this was. He finished his beer and pulled a few coins from Gama-chan. "Well I hope you are just as important to him as he is to you."

The blonde gave a smile of thanks to the cute waitress and turned down the street without a backward glance. Naruto wasn't sure what to make of the encounter but he did hope that they wouldn't see each other again. He felt sad for the enemy kunoichi. Her words reminded him strongly of a conversation he had with Sasuke.

_Naruto leaned back against the rock letting the sun beat down on his chest. An afternoon without a mission and without training was rare. He wanted to soak in every moment. The sound of a blade being sharpened didn't interrupt the peace, adding instead a hypnotic rhythm to the lake clearing. The bastard really couldn't just kick back, he always had to be doing something. _

_Kakashi was off with Sakura on a mission and the two of them decided it was time to have a break from their near constant training. "Oi, Sasuke do you ever think about what might have happened if we weren't put on this team?"_

_It was something the son of the Fourth thought about quite often. Would he have liked a different team? He supposed being on Chôji's team wouldn't have been bad. The heavier boy was kind and had excellent taste in ramen, even if he preferred barbecue. And Shikamaru, a lazy bastard for sure but he was smarter than Sakura if he ever put his mind to something useful. The blonde shuddered when he thought of the only other genin that shared his hair color. Ino would have been a nightmare. The girl on Team 8 could have been fine, though Naruto couldn't remember her ever speaking._

_"What a useless thing to think about," came his teammate's bland response. _

_Rolling his eyes at the unsurprising reply Naruto sighed. "I guess," he admitted. "But it makes me feel grateful ya know, to be on this team. Without you guys, without this assignment, I don't know who I would have turned out to be. Probably just that loudmouth punk who still only dreams about being Hokage so people will like me." He knew the sentiment behind the words was was wasted on Sasuke but he was thinking out loud. He was grateful. _

_The shick-shick sound of a blade being sharpened stopped. "Until that mission and Sakura…I thought that my purpose was to kill my brother, to avenge my family." Naruto remained still. He couldn't believe the other boy was actually voluntarily talking about this. After he and Sakura promised to help Sasuke they hadn't spoken of it again. "She nearly died for me. It made me realize that if my only purpose in life is to end his, if that is all I am, he has taken even more than my family away from me. And I've let him. I don't think another team could have made me realize this." _

_Naruto stared up at the clouds, not really seeing any shapes in them. He knew Sakura and Sasuke had spoken about the disaster mission once or twice, but those talks never included him. His teammate began his task again. The two boys didn't speak again, both knowing there wasn't any need for more words._

Even now he couldn't imagine it. He couldn't imagine one person being the entire reason he continued living. Sure he loved Sakura and Sasuke and even his porn reading teacher. He would give up his life for them in a heartbeat if it meant saving them, but devote his entire existence to them? Dying for someone was one thing, giving your life to someone was entirely different. Yeah, no thanks.

He headed out of town keeping his senses open. The enemy's appearance was unsettling and he needed to be sure he wasn't followed. When they first arrived in Wave Country they located Tazuna's house. There was a high probability that Gatô would send thugs to their client's home so Naruto kept a couple of shadow clones on watch duty. It was in the direction of the bridge builders home that he was now headed.

As soon as he made it within a hundred yards of the property a clone dropped down from the thick canopy. "Yo Boss!" it greeted giddily and Naruto rolled his eyes, great a cheery one.

"Any problems?"

The clone nodded his bandana clothed head. "We had two Kiri-nin by the looks of it, poking around but they seemed to be checking if the old drunk returned yet. Two guys, looked kind of the same. Not very bright."

That was expected but also unwelcome. "They stop by more than once?"

"Yep come and go they do!"

He didn't think he would ever get over the weirdness of having a conversation with himself. "On a schedule?"

His mirror image shrugged. "Couldn't say, you know we don't really have a sense of time."

Sighing Naruto reached out and dispelled the clone with a solid thump on the head with a little bit of chakra. His partner clone, felt the action and came running. "Oh it's just you, thought I was gonna see a bit of action. This is so boring boss." With a punch the whiney chakra construct disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Tilting his head he acknowledged Sasuke landing on the forest floor beside him. "Any news?" the black haired genin asked.

He noted Sasuke's tired face, but knew any comment would be unwelcome. "We have some Kiri-nin poking around. They aren't the two that Sakura mentioned. I ran into the androgynous one at the ramen shop. Think it's a girl, maybe," he tilted his head at the thought. "Anyway, where is she by the way?"

Sasuke just blinked at him.

"What?" Naruto asked.

The black haired boy said nothing but raised a fist and hit Naruto, who hadn't thought his teammate would do such a thing out of the blue didn't try to block or dodge the blow. "Oi, what the fuck, asshole?!" Holding his cheek he glared daggers at the other genin.

"Mmm, it is you." Was Sasuke's only response.

"Of course it's me!"

"I didn't think a word like androgynous was in your vocabulary. Thought someone might be impersonating you."

"So you punched me?!" The furious blonde shoved the other boy.

Stumbling back only a step and then sidestepping Naruto's follow up swipe the unmoved Uchiha shrugged. "Would you prefer I stabbed you instead?"

Naruto rolled his eyes skyward. Knowing he would never get an apology out of the bastard he stretched his smarting jaw and moved on. "Sakura?"

"She should be here soon-" Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed.

The son of the Fourth stiffened as he became aware of what made his friend fall silent. They both leapt into the trees, suppressing their chakra as they headed towards the two foreign signatures that were closer to their client's home.

From their perch in the canopy they saw the two unknown shinobi move silently into the house and a scream followed. "Damn!" Naruto cursed as he launched himself towards the home. They had no idea who these two were or what rank they were. But he wasn't going to allow Tazuna's daughter or grandkid to be hurt or killed.

Sasuke was on his heels as they entered the house as quietly as possible, the woman's screams masked their entrance and gave them the element of surprise. He left the man holding Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter by the hair to Sasuke as he went for the enemy further across the kitchen kunai in hand.

His target defended against the kunai that would have found a home in his neck. The screech of metal on metal cut through the air, but Naruto was already moving on. He ducked under the a jab as one of his feet landed a crippling blow to the inside of his opponent's left knee while his unoccupied hand delivered a solid punch to the throat. The shinobi dropped to the ground choking on his cry of agony. Naruto rendered him unconscious with a powerful blow to the temple.

Turning on the spot and ready to attack again he saw Sasuke already took care of the second Kiri-nin. The black haired boy's double edged sword was bloody, but Naruto could see the enemy shinobi was still alive. Though he might not be for very much longer based on the growing blood pool.

Naruto's blue eyes met with Sasuke's dark ones and they silently communicated. He slowly dropped to a squat in front of Tsunami, who was still on floor and shaking. "Hey, everything is going to be okay. Why don't we move somewhere else? My friend here is going to take care of this mess and I'll make some tea." Tea was soothing, or so said Sakura.

The frightened woman slowly raised her head to meet his eyes. She was really pretty, he noticed, not as pretty as that other shinobi, but then again anyone would look better if they didn't have blood on their face. "We were hired by your dad. He's on his way." Slowly he raised his arm, not too high but giving her plenty of warning before he let his it settle on her shoulder. "Come on now."

She nodded her dark head and took in a shaky breath. "Thank you," she managed. Naruto helped her to her feet. "Just through there." She motioned with her arm to show him and he aided her way across the kitchen avoiding the blood into a cozy room. Just as he got her settled down she startled again. "My son! He should have been home an hour ago! What if they got him?"

"Where would he be coming from?" Naruto asked as he cursed himself. He completely forgot about the kid.

"He works down by the fishing docks after school, helping the fisherman unload their catch."

Naruto was about to make some shadow clones when they heard a yell from the front of the house and he sensed another presence. "Who the hell are you? What have you done to my mom?! I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!" Speak of the devil, or in this case the brat. Naruto followed the frantic mother out to the source of the yells. The sight that greeted them was rather comical.

Sasuke had one arm outstretched, firmly holding the grandson of their client back as the young boy futilely tried to punch the Uchiha.

"Inari!" Tsunami cried, enveloping her child faster than even a shinobi could blink. "Where have you been? I was so worried!" Naruto wanted to point out that there was no way the kid could answered while he was smothered against his mother's chest.

Nodding to Sasuke the pair returned to the kitchen as neither of them wanted to witness the scene. "You always have to make a mess don't you?" the blonde commented as he took in the room. It was actually pretty pristine other than the body leaking blood all over the floor. "We should stop the bleeding. He doesn't have to die."

Sasuke shrugged. "Yours would still be alive," he pointed out.

Trying not to show his frustration at the callousness the blonde genin took out a small storage scroll from his pouch that held restraints.. "Given their nearly identical appearance, I'd say they're related. Probably won't talk if one of them is dead," he said trying to appeal to Sasuke's logical mind. "Where is Sakura when you need her?"

* * *

_Yûki's heated gaze fell onto the woman laid out underneath him on sable fur. Her face was flushed from their previous activities but uncertainty and fear clouded her lust. His body throbbed like a giant beating heart overflowing with need and yet he could not move forward._

_Could he really do this, steal from her that which should only be given by choice? Was it really stealing? His hand reached her inner thigh, playing along the seam of her under garments, pads of his fingers reveling at the feel of her silk like skin._

_"Yûki!" Mao cried out in passion, her swollen lips forming an exquisite expression. _

_Her renewed vigor brought him closer to what must be. This was it. He finally would achieve what he most wanted. He would regain what was stolen from him so long ago._

_And yet, he stayed frozen, unable to carry out what would be a pleasurable act for both, paralyzed by the undeniable love he felt for the innocent woman below him, the woman he positively ached for. _

_"Yûki," she said again, this time, however it wasn't a cry of passion. His name called his dark eyes to her's and a smile of joy and acceptance warmed her face in a way lust never could. "I know Yûki." Did she know? How was that possible? "I know why you sought me out. I know why you pursued me. I know." Guilt caused his breath to hitch and his body to shudder. A gentle hand brushed the damp hair from his face. "Let me be enough. Please I will give you what you want, just leave my village in peace." He turned his face away, not able to look at her soft expression. "The people who live there now, they aren't the ones who stole your magic. There is no revenge to be had against them." _

_He closed his eyes as the anger that he lived with for more than two centuries was brought forth. "I…" he began but couldn't find the words to continue. He wasn't sure what to say. She was asking him to dismiss his rage that was his only companion for so long. _

_Mao's legs curled around his hips and pulled his retreating form back. "I want you Yûki. I want you in all the ways a woman can want a man. I want you knowing in this act I will be giving you back the power to destroy my home. I am just asking that you don't."_

_His heart, something he thought he lost when his magic was stripped form him and only in the last few months was beginning to feel again swelled and with it his ardor. He gave her an answer with his lips as he relieved them both of any remaining obstructions. _

_A hand reached for the sweet heat of her-_

"You know Sakura, if you were looking for a good book I could have given you a few suggestions." The voice in her ear, caused the blushing young woman to squeak and fall out of the tree she was perched in. A twisting flip saved her from hitting the ground in an unpleasant position. "And might I say it is very irresponsible to be reading while on the job."

Sakura glared up at the shadow of her teacher. "You know you are the definition of a hypocrite right now."

The clone dropped down to stand before her. "But when I read, people don't sneak up on me."

Her failure did sting her pride. "I was on my dinner break," she groused.

"No excuse," he responded in that fake, irritatingly cheerful tone. "But really if you want to read a book that will broaden your horizons sexually-"

"Stop!" Sakura commanded, red filling her face. "I don't need you to tell me about your damn sex books."

The copy looked genuinely confused. "But you were just-"

"You came to deliver a message I assume." She cut him off before he could finish the sentence.

"Ah yes," the shadow clone confirmed. "We will be arriving tomorrow and I want an update as to exactly where we are."

Sakura nodded. "Operation Chaos," she rolled her eyes at the name, "is well underway. We've so far destroyed two of Gatô's largest cargo ships and put a bunch of his smaller boats out of commision, helped misplace several valuable antiquities that were promised to a wealthy and politically influential patron, who will no longer be using his services and just a few hours ago Sasuke and Naruto blew up the lab that made a majority of his drugs. We had to leave our position though when Gatô hired some missing-nin from Kiri and one of them is a jônin with quite the reputation."

"Name?"

"Momochi Zabuza."

The clone's forehead wrinkled slightly which Sakura knew meant that her teacher was concerned. "And you haven't taken Gatô out himself?"

She shook her head. "He wasn't in the country till yesterday night." A dark smirk turned the corners of her lips up. "He was very displeased when he returned to find out all that happened in his absence."

"Displeased and suspicious?"

"Of his own men."

The copy of her teacher smiled behind his mask. "Very well done. Anything else?"

"Gatô takes a tonic for chronic stomach pain, probably has an ulcer or two. I may have slipped something else into his supply."

"Sakura."

The girl shrugged at her teacher's gentle scolding. "I know, I know it's bad form to leave some of the poison behind to be discovered, but I thought this way it looks sloppy, like an inside job done by an amateur. Helps that it was the drugs his people make."

The clone gave her a blank look. "You put crystal meth in his tonic?"

She tugged on one of the skinny braids that hung from her underneath her headband in thought. "He shouldn't be able to taste it I don't think. The tonic was vile to begin with and the meth is just bitter. He gets them in these single serving glass bottles. If he drinks two bottles definitely dead, Which, he may given the stress he's feeling…" she trailed off at the look that clearly said move on. "But if he drinks one bottle every four or so hours as he is meant to, I'm thinking arrhythmia, confusion, possibly paranoia and a whole host of other not so pleasant side affects."

The shadow clone stood from his crouch. "Right, well, I will report this. You can expect our client and my real self to show up some time tomorrow morning." The clone dispelled itself with a puff of smoke leaving Sakura alone in the trees.

Looking down at her romance novel she toyed with the idea of continuing to read for a bit before returning to Naruto and Sasuke. But that would probably be even more negligent of her duties than the short hour she already took to indulge her habit. Sighing she stowed the book in her small backpack.

When they took this job she had no idea how tiring it would be. Keeping up a simple transformation technique for a prolonged period of time was a strain on not only the chakra supply but also on the mind. Plus they had to blend in with a bunch of thugs which wasn't as easy as it initially seemed. Who knew being a bad guy was so exhausting?

They were packing to begin the mission and escort their client back to his home when Pakkun came in with a message from Kakashi's friend. Apparently the amazing bridge builder was not completely honest with them about exactly why he needed protection. Their teacher in his infinite wisdom decided it was high time they make their own choices, so he left it up to them whether or not they continued the mission.

After listening to Tazuna's story Naruto was totally taken in and even she was sympathetic, especially after they did a little research and found out Gato had his hands in all sorts of criminal pies, including the skin trade. But Sasuke being painfully logical brought up the glaring problem. Protecting their client until the bridge was built would not fix the problems of the small country and even if the bridge was completed it could very easily be used by those with selfish and greedy aims.

Though it took a while but Naruto eventually saw that they could not free an entire country from oppression. Even if they killed Gatô another would step up to take his place. So they settled on weakening the criminal empire that was strangling the life out of Nami no Kuni and hope the common people would seize the chance to help themselves.

After being here for nearly a week though, Sakura highly doubted that would happen. The string of islands that made up the country was geographically weak. The only reason they remained an autonomous country rather than being swallowed up by a larger nation was the land itself, despite being resource rich didn't lend itself to well to being governed. The disconnected land masses were perfect however for growing criminals who had very little fear of any kind of authority finding or catching them.

The main village of the island they were on was the largest community of the land. Whatever wealth and prosperity it once had was long gone. Even the rougher parts of Takikawa were far nicer.

Traveling through the trees Sakura's thoughts turned to Konoha. It would a few short weeks till they were back in their home village. The pink haired girl knew her mixed feelings on returning were shared by both her teammates, but for different reasons. Though they had all vowed not to give up on the home that had become not so welcoming Sakura knew both boys were having second thoughts after they started to really get a good view of who their opposition were.

A shot of adrenaline rushed through the genin when she recognized Naruto's chakra signature hurtling towards her. Right before her eyes caught a glimpse of his bright blonde hair she noticed it was a clone. Shadow clones had an exact copy of their creator's chakra system. There was almost no perceptible difference between a clone and the creator. Except, clones tended to embody only a certain facet of the creator's personality. This caused their chakra to flow in a pattern that differed from the creator. After living with Naruto and being with him nearly all day and night both Sakura and Sasuke could tell the difference. The same could not be said for their teacher, though. Naruto himself could pick out their sensei from his clones much to the frustration of his teammates. What was even more maddening was Naruto had no explanation for why he could tell them apart.

"Trouble Sakura! Two Kiri-nin went after Tazuna's family. Sasuke and I got them but the asshole had to go in sword happy and we could use your help," the shadow of her teammate explained.

Sakura's pushed chakra into her legs and exploded off the limb she was on, cracking it in the process. The clone tried to keep up but was out stripped by the pace the pink haired girl set. Excitement at the chance to practice her healing skills bubbled underneath her skin.

When she arrived at Tazuna's house she entered without preamble and followed the familiar sound of her boys arguing to the kitchen. "Don't you think I know that!" the real Naruto snapped at Sasuke who was leaning against the kitchen counter casually. The younger genin was on the floor, tightening a bandage around the shoulder of a rather sinisterly dressed man. "Sakura!" he cried in relief.

Not bothering to greet either of the boys she focused her attention on the injured enemy. She unwrapped Naruto's work and got a look at the problem. The wound was a clean slice that bisected the right subclavian artery and vein and several other minor vessels. It was excellent practice as she hadn't quite mastered the process of repairing and regenerating the differing types of tissue that made up the blood vessels.

Despite wanting the practice she paused. "Are you two sure this is a good idea? I mean we've got more than a bit on our plates right now."

"Shit Sakura, he's already made more than a puddle, just heal him," Naruto urged.

She still hesitated and could feel the man fading. Despite her concerns she did as Naruto wanted. Her chakra was cool but fizzed against the skin of her hands as she directed it and felt the damage her teammate's blade did. While she began the slow process of regenerating the cells to bridge the gap she simultaneously started to destroy the waste of ruined blood and flesh. The muscular tissue was not worth the trouble of healing. As much as she wanted to practice it would take too much time and chakra.

The healing was going well and once the first two layers of newly formed tissues bridged the temporary gap and sealed to each other she paused in her work. "I've repaired the blood vessels you severed. He's still lost a lot of blood. Want to fill me in on why I'm healing this guy now?"

She didn't have to look up to see the death glare Naruto was giving Sasuke. "We need info on who we're up against," Naruto said tersely.

The pink haired girl's brow furrows as she glances at the unconscious tied up body on the other side of the room. "Why isn't he enough?" Sasuke made a noise in agreement.

"We couldn't just let him die."

Sasuke mumbles something that sounds a lot like 'you couldn't' under his breath. This was obviously the source of their previous disagreement. "Well, now we have two live prisoners. I think we should keep them under sedation until Kakashi comes, which by the way will be tomorrow morning."

Sakura saw that both her teammates were relieved by this news. Though they had been handling their business pretty well up until now, none of them had any interrogation experience. Unrolling another of her medical scrolls the novice healer pulled out what she needed before injecting both of their guests. "Did you strip them for weapons?" Both boys scowled at her, obviously offended that she thought they would forget something so basic. She held up her hands in placation. "Just checking, wow you are both touchy right now."

Not waiting to hear their complaints she left the rest of the restraining to them as she needed to introduce herself. Tsunami and her son were sitting in the living room. The boy was squirming in his mother's arms clearly not wanting to be on her lap. "Hello," the pink haired girl greeted softly, not wanting to startle the already frazzled woman. "My name is Sakura, you've already met my teammates."

The dark haired woman bobbed her head in greeting. "I'm Tsunami and this is my son Inari."

"How the hell do we know you're here to help us! Mom, it's a trick. They're with Gatô!" the little boy howled.

Wincing at the uncomfortable pitch the boy's voice reached, Sakura ground her teeth together and tried her best to keep her face pleasant. "I can promise you we are not working for Gatô. Have you heard about his ships recently sinking?" The kid stopped trying to get out of his mom's hold for a moment and watched Sakura with suspicious eyes. He nodded. "That was us."

Instead of being impressed Inari scoffed. "Yeah right, you're just some kids. You couldn't do anything to Gatô."

The flickering beginnings of anger heated her face as Tsunami apologized profusely and shushed her son. "We are young, but we are shinobi. I received a message from our team leader who is traveling with your father. He should be arriving tomorrow morning." Relief spread across the older woman's face. "My teammates should have your kitchen cleaned up soon. Please go about your business but do not leave the house. We would like for the two of you to sleep in the same room tonight, preferably this one." The sitting room had multiple exits and enough space for all of them. If they kept the two in one of the back rooms they could be easily trapped with very little space to maneuver.

Sakura left the pair and returned to the kitchen to see that Naruto and Sasuke were already finished and sitting at the kitchen table looking at Kakashi's extra Bingo Book. "Threw them in the kid's room, boy sounds like a brat," Naruto explained.

"Why don't you go tell them that before they get their bedding," Sakura suggested with a huff of laughter. The blonde made a show of dragging himself out of the chair and leaving the room. Sakura dropped into the now vacant seat heavily. If Kakashi didn't run them ragged on the regular she was sure she would have passed out by now. "How's your head?"

Her broody teammate shrugged and made the noise that they all learned meant 'fine'. Knowing she wouldn't get much else from him she didn't try.

Tsunami entered the kitchen and offered to make dinner. The two genin declined politely as they both previously ate. The night passed with a few confrontations between Inari and Naruto. Sakura nearly took off Sasuke's head when he woke her for her watch shift. She watched as dawn broke over the trees that surrounded the house. Looking behind her shoulder to make sure everyone else was still sleeping she pulled the blood stained letter from her vest.

After this mission was complete it would only be a few short days of travel before they were back in Konoha. The closer it seemed to get the further away she wished it was. It wasn't that she didn't miss the village because she did. She missed her parents, but it wouldn't be the same. She missed Ino, for some strange reason that was beyond her. Living with men all the time got a little old and kunoichi company was rare at the outpost. Mitarashi Anko did not count, though the woman did have a fascinating knowledge of poisons.

Feeling Naruto begin to stir behind her Sakura shoved the letter back into the pocket it came from. "Hey," his voice called, still full of sleep. He plopped down beside her at the window and yawned. "Damn I could sleep for ten more hours." Sakura chuckled in agreement. He ruffled his shaggy head and reached for the bandana he abandoned the night before.

"Let me," Sakura offered. With a sleepy grin he nodded, extremely pleased. Sakura padded around the room gathering the needed supplies before kneeling in front of Naruto's back. She pulled the brush through his golden locks. "You need a hair cut. This is becoming unmanageable," she criticized with quiet fondness.

"Perhaps I should ask Sasuke, he did such a good job with yours." The comment earned him a soft cuff to the back of his head. Sasuke still went deathly pale when her shortened mane was mentioned. A fire jutsu got away from the Uchiha during a spar and Sakura's poor, nearly mid back braid was the victim. Kakashi ended up having to pull the infuriated girl off her bloody teammate.

They both felt their teacher's approach as Sakura finished tying the bandana in place. "I'm gonna start on breakfast." He got up, stopping at one of their food packs that Sasuke retrieved from their hidden stash the night before and headed into the kitchen. Looking back out at the sun rise she let out a sigh. As unsure as she was about going back to Konoha she hoped with Kakashi's arrival this mission ended soon.

* * *

Kakashi watched as Sasuke and Sakura stood at guard on the bridge. He couldn't help but be proud at what his students accomplished. As soon as they arrived with late in the morning with the bridge builder in tow they were greeted by the workers with word of Gatô's death and the imminent collapse of his criminal empire from infighting. To their credit Sakura and Sasuke didn't bat an eyelash.

He would be so happy when this mission was over and that was going to be soon. Babysitting Tazuna while his genin were out running about trying to destroy a crime syndicate had not been fun. After Pakkun arrived with more information on their mission curtesy of Tenzô, Kakashi knew it was time to take a step back. He had been hovering over them as if they were babies just learning to walk since the incident. As much as he didn't want to put them in unknown danger again they were shinobi and this was their job. He could tell they were nervous about taking on the mission without him as well. Their dependence on him needed to be broken despite how uncomfortable it would be. He had all the faith in the world that they were capable, the growth they exhibited in the past month was nothing short of extraordinary.

Sakura, while she waited for her body to fully recover from its injury ate up anything and everything to do with iryô-ninjutsu. It was almost frightening how enthusiastic the girl was. At one point Kakashi was worried it would pull her away from working in the field. She wouldn't be the first shinobi to show promise only to be drawn to the med-room.

But in the end he had nothing to worry about. Sakura was picking up healing much faster than even he anticipated but her true passion was finding ways to turn iryo-ninjutsu into an offensive weapon. Kakashi pegged her as being the most conventionally intelligent from the get go and now Sakura was showing just how accurate his initial analysis was.

Not that Sasuke or Naruto were falling behind their female teammate.

Sasuke's early training with his clan and gave him a very good base for his most recent interest, kenjutsu. After receiving some instruction from Namiashi the last Uchiha of Konoha practiced in every spare moment. Though Kakashi was no slouch with a sword he was far from a master. But Sasuke was more than lucky in the instructor department. Hayate Gekko, who Kakashi didn't know other than by reputation ended up staying at the outpost for nearly two weeks while waiting on intel. The special jônin was happy to help Sasuke in the mean time as long as Sakura was kept far away. The aspiring medic-nin was rabidly curious about the special jônin's chronic illness.

Kakashi also cautiously began to show Sasuke how to use his bloodline limit. The sharingan users made sure to practice only when they had privacy as Sasuke's awakening was still a secret. Pairing his newly acquired kenjutsu skills with his clan trademark was a match made in shinobi heaven. If Sasuke focused on genjutsu over ninjutsu as Kakashi suggested he would make one of the most formidable assassin's Konoha had ever seen.

And then there was Naruto. The hyperactive blonde was an absolute whirlwind. Though it generally took him longer to learn a new technique than his teammates when he did learn it he always had an innovative way to customize it to fit perfectly into his arsenal. It was something that took most shinobi years to accomplish. The boy did the same thing with the taijutsu Kakashi attempted to teach him. No matter how many times they drilled form. Naruto reverted to a much looser, brawler like style. It wasn't pretty but every member of Team 7 could attest to its effectiveness. Even the sharingan couldn't reliably predict Naruto's strikes.

His most creative student continued to study fûinjutsu, but it would be years before would come close to his father's skill much less his mother's. Naruto confided in Kakashi that he thought he felt the Kyûbi's chakra while he was rushing Sakura back to the outpost. He encouraged his student to continue trying to access the Kyûbi's chakra through meditation but so far there was no joy. But the meditation practice greatly increased Naruto's control and awareness of his own chakra. He would never attain a better than average level of control but he was beginning to show an aptitude for shaping his chakra. It was a rare gift that Kakashi could only nurture so far.

Though they all had their own interests and disciplines they trained in Kakashi made sure the team came back together and didn't neglect the all important basics. This mission proved their training was more than adequate for them to take the next step in their careers. Though it would probably be another year until they were promoted. The village was at peace and there was no reason to push genin, even ones as promising as his too quickly through the ranks.

Sighing he flipped another page of his worn out book. It was about time to send Sasuke out in exchange for Naruto who was back at the house minding Tazuna's family when the edges of his senses rippled as a chakra signature crossed into his range. Whoever it was they wanted to announce their presence. He sent out a slight pulse to his two students whose stances didn't change but their eyes began to shift about looking for the threat. Stashing his book in his back pouch he watched as two figures came into view through the mist that coated the bridge and made its end invisible.

He recognized the two shinobi that worried his students. He gestured behind his back for the two genin to stay. Though he was cautious he doubted this was an attack. The two stopped roughly fifty feet out and the workers they passed were frozen watching.

"We brought tea," Zabuza Momochi called gruffly and gestured to his partner who was indeed carrying a tray with a thermos and cups. "Will you permit a meeting?"

Kakashi sole eye blinked. "It would be rude not too, since you went through the trouble," he replied. The two parties met somewhere in the middle and without preamble took seats on the cold concrete of the ridge. Sasuke and Sakura stayed behind with Tazuna.

"You killed our pay day," the former Kiri-nin who was naked of his signature weapon accused before taking a swig of tea to show it wasn't poisoned. His associate poured a cup for Kakashi who sniffed it before taking the smallest of sips.

The silver haired jônin's eyebrows lifted in surprise at the fullness of flavor and lack of bitterness. It was damn good tea. He nodded towards the dark haired companion, who still went unnamed. "It's quite delicious, thank you."

"Enough about the damn tea," Zabuza growled out. "Gatô's dead Copy-nin Kakashi and I've got an arrangement that I think will suit all parties."

"Oh?"

Rolling his eyes the other jônin's chakra crackled in frustration. "Call over the bridge builder and let's talk business before I run out of patience."

Kakashi had half a mind to tell him no, but put aside his personal feelings. The pair didn't come to fight and he didn't want to start one. "Tazuna, come join us." He didn't let his eye stray from Zabuza but he heard the scuffle his invitation caused. Nearly a minute later Tazuna came to kneel at his side though slightly behind him.

"What do you want?" the disgruntled drunk asked with more venom than even Kakashi thought the not so sober man could muster.

Zabuza smiled showing rows of shark like teeth he no doubt filed himself. It wasn't like teeth like that were natural. Body modification was never his thing. "You have yourself here quite a gold mine. This country though is in desperate need of protection and a strong governing body."

"We had a centralized government. Gatô corrupted it," Tazuna interrupted heatedly.

The ex-Kiri-nin waved his hand. "Well, make a new one. My guess is these Konoha-nin are only here to protect you for a short time. What happens when their contract runs out? Gatô may be gone but eventually someone will take his place. You need to think long term. This bridge may have been your salvation but it is also a single road to and from the mainland. It can just as easily be used against you."

Kakashi could see where this conversation was heading and knew Momochi was right. Despite his students' efforts the Nami no Kuni was vulnerable and would always be until they had some kind of defensive force of their own. He could see the gears turning in Tazuna's mind as well. "Perhaps we can move this little meeting somewhere more comfortable and with more representation for your country," he added with a look towards their client.

A time and place that pleased both parties was eventually agreed to. The workers got back to work and the day went on as if nothing tremendous had just occurred. Soon the sun was setting and it was time to go back to Tazuna's. Over dinner Team 7 discussed the recent turn of events. Tazuna and his family were already fast asleep after the stress of the day.

"But how can they just put aside the fact they were hired to kill him? I mean how can Tazuna?" Naruto questioned.

Kakashi swallowed another mouthful of food and suppressed a moan. He sure missed Sasuke's cooking while he was on the road with Tazuna. "How do you think wars end?" he asked after swallowing.

Naruto's blonde eyebrows rose. "I never really thought about it."

"Enemies have to sit down at the same table, even after they have been fighting and killing each other for years sometimes." He saw his team was chewing on the thoughts this provoked and was happy to hide a smile behind his mask.

Sakura set her chopsticks aside. "Do you think Momochi will really honor whatever agreement they come up with? I mean he did betray his own village, didn't he?"

The masked shinobi snuck another bite of food while no one was looking. "We covered Kirigakure in our lessons. Their village has been tearing itself apart for years. You yourselves said you would stand against Konoha given the right circumstances. If you stood against them and lost… and lived… you would be branded a missing-nin. Perhaps in a another life Momochi could have been the leader of his village instead of the outcast."

The silence that followed this statement was broken by Sasuke. "Didn't answer her question. Do you think that Momochi will turn on them?"

Sighing and feeling the weight of his long shinobi career on his shoulders Kakashi answered truthfully. "I don't know. But our contract ends in five days. What happens after that is no longer our concern." Naruto's chair screeched as he pushed himself away from the table hard. Dropping his bowl in the sink the son of Minato left the house without a word clearly upset by the conversation.

"I'll take first watch," Sakura offered quietly before slipping into the neighboring room.

Sasuke's dark eyes flickered between the two exits before shrugging off whatever thought was in his head. "I cooked. You do the dishes."

Behind his mask Kakashi frowned not quite sure how that happened. By the time he finished the dishes Naruto had returned and passed out in a sleeping bag in the living room next to Sasuke. He joined Sakura who was outside.

"So how did it go?" he asked.

His students gave him a detailed run down of their side of the mission soon after he arrived that morning. But both parties of this conversation were well aware that was not what he was asking about. Green eyes slid over to him. "You want me to tattle on my teammates Kakashi-sensei?" Her lips turned up.

The veteran shinobi quirked his single visible brow at her. "I've been traveling with a stubborn alcoholic at a snail's pace for over a week Sakura. Don't tease." It was a truly awful week. The reason they arrived this morning instead of late last night was the man refused to travel at night. He very nearly summoned his pack to escort Tazuna so he could carry on ahead and be of some use.

Sakura chuckled lightly before falling into silence. He could tell his most intelligent student was thinking over what she wanted to report to him. "Sasuke had another episode."

"The pain in his head?"

The pink haired genin nodded. "The frequency of the episodes are increasing. When we return to Konoha he should see a doctor." She rolled her eyes. "You are going to have to drag him though. It has to be something to do with the sharingan. These attacks started after he activated it."

"You know that if this is truly being caused by the sharingan he cannot see just any doctor." It was worrisome but whatever was happening with Sasuke would have to wait until they were back in Konoha. "Naruto?"

Sakura hesitated before she seemed to seize some sort of resolve. "He still has yet to kill someone and goes out of his way in order not to."

The jônin was surprised at the steel in Sakura's voice. "That isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"We only learned this after the fact, but Naruto, without discussing it with Sasuke, decided to evacuate the workers of the drug warehouse they blew up only last night. Sasuke already set his tags and Naruto was late to their meet up." She licked her lips and lowered her voice before continuing. "It was unnecessary risk that could have ended with Sasuke blowing his tags with Naruto still in the building."

He could see that her concern wasn't misplaced. It was completely stupid of Naruto. Sakura wasn't finished.

"I healed one of those Demon Brothers because Naruto insisted. You know I always appreciate the opportunity to practice and I don't know if I would have been able to stand by and do nothing, but it was another risk. Keeping them prisoner has required our time and attention." She folded her arms across her body. "Like I said, I don't know if I could have just watched him slowly bleed out and he might have even survived, minus the arm, but Naruto didn't think about the danger of healing him at all."

His ever present mask covered the troubled expression he did not have the energy to keep off his face. Civilians called shinobi heartless as an insult. Almost none took it as such. To be a good shinobi one had to have the ability to turn off certain emotions. Being compassionate wasn't a bad thing, but when it put your team at risk it was unacceptable.

"Thank you for your honesty Sakura." She bobbed her head at his words of gratitude. "And you?"

The girl let out a sigh and shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess. I don't feel guilty about killing Gatô." Her expression darkened. She scuffed the bottom of her boot on the ground. "I still wake up sometimes and feel like it's still there, in me and I can't breathe." She gestures to the area where she was stabbed. "And I see the bodies."

Her voice is carefully neutral and Kakashi is proud of the control she has gained. "It will pass in time."

"To be replaced by new nightmares?" she asks with a touch of bitterness.

"That's the life." He comes to his feet. He wanted to send her to bed and stay up the rest of the night just to give his kids a break. It was apparent that this mission was exhausting for them but he knew they would find his coddling insulting. "Wake up Naruto for next shift," he instructed before turning in for the night. He doubted they would see anymore action on this mission and it would be nice to have a few quiet days before they returned to Konoha and were put under a microscope again.

* * *

Pakkun was in need of tasty treat. He licked a paw as Kakashi's genin team said goodbye to the farewell party that was assembled on the bridge. He arrived that morning after picking up another message for Kakashi from Tenzô. He was happy to find that his partner and the brats were packed and ready to return to Konoha. He missed his good dog bed.

The pug eyed the two foreign shinobi who were standing off to one side, the big one leaning on a monstrous sword. Naruto, the idiot was chatting up the younger of the two. A chuckle escaped the waiting dog as he realized from the not so subtle flirting the genin was attempting that Naruto wasn't aware the other shinobi was also male.

"Are you going to tell him that's a guy?" Pakkun quietly asked Sakura, whose head he was sitting on.

He didn't need to see the grin on the girl's face to know it was there. "Nope. Haku thinks it's hilarious and who am I to spoil his fun."

"You're a terrible friend," the dog accused. "Never change." Sakura chuckled in response.

Soon Team 7 was on its way home. "I can't believe they named a bridge after you," Pakkun commented as he strode between Naruto and Kakashi.

"Why not? I'm amazing and I was the driving force behind us even staying with this mission. And I brought up some great points when they were negotiating with Zabuza." Pakkun scoffed and shot a look at his partner to see how truthful this was.

"Naruto did have offer some insightful suggestions."

"Ha see! I'm insightful."

"Oh yeah, you're insightful alright. So insightful, you didn't even notice that shinobi you were flirting with, quite poorly I might add was a guy."

"Pakkun! It was secret."

"What? Haku's not a dude."

"Sorry to break it to you but he most certainly is."

"WHAT! You all knew?! WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME?"

* * *

A/N: Thank to everyone who has followed, favorited, and special thanks to those who reviewed. Sorry I know I'm not updating often anymore. A lot of changes happening and I simply haven't had the time or the desire, but I'm getting it back.

So I know this wasn't what most of you were expecting or wanting. But I just couldn't do the typical Wave arc. It didn't fit with the development I built. Let me know what you think.

Side note: Any medical knowledge I have is basic at best and so I do my best to educate myself through the internet but I realize I have no idea what I'm talking about.


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